Your business will only grow as much as you do.
When high achievers hit a wall in business, relationships, or personal fulfilment — the instinct is often to push harder, chase new strategies, or change direction entirely. But those moments of frustration often signal something deeper.
They’re not failures. They’re identity edges, moments that challenge who we believe ourselves to be. Once you understand that, every setback is an invitation to evolve.
“The brain doesn’t just record reality, it creates it,” says Grant Sherwood, one of South Africa’s leading identity success coaches. “When your beliefs and goals align, you stop chasing success and start attracting it.”
He believes that true transformation isn’t about forcing change through discipline or sheer willpower; it’s about consciously reshaping how you see yourself so that your actions naturally align with your true values.
“Success isn’t just strategy, it’s about identity. When you upgrade who you are, everything you lead transforms to success,” he says.
Grant has built his career on helping entrepreneurs and high performers rewire their mindset to unlock their full potential. Here are his top 10 tips that can help you consciously rebuild who you are when life calls for a new chapter. Each tip can reconnect you with your values, beliefs, and direction.
The 10 Tips For Your Identity Reset:
- Check in with yourself
Revisit your beliefs, values, and daily choices. Are they aligned with who you say you are?
- Get clear on who you are today
Identify what fuels and drains you. Awareness is the starting point for growth.
- Picture your future self
Visualise who you want to become — not just what you want to achieve.
- Spot the gaps
Compare your current self with your ideal self to reveal what’s out of alignment.
- Let go of old beliefs
Replace outdated narratives with ones rooted in authenticity and truth.
- Count your wins
Recognise what’s already working. Progress begins with awareness of strength.
- Learn from role models
Study the mindset and habits of those who embody the traits you value.
- Rethink how you handle emotions
View emotions as data, not disruptions. They reveal where change is required.
- Build the whole you
Strengthen each of the 7 areas of your life — mental, physical, spiritual, financial, vocational, social and family — to create balanced self-worth.
- Live it, every day
Transformation becomes tangible when every thought and action aligns with your upgraded identity.
From Breakdown to Breakthrough
Modern leadership demands transformation, because success isn’t about doing more, but becoming more. Neuroscience shows that our sense of identity is malleable — shaped by the thoughts we repeat and the stories we believe. By consciously rewriting that story, we reshape the reality we live in.
When you stop fighting who you are and start understanding who you’re becoming, transformation stops being a struggle and starts being a design.
And for those who embrace it, reinvention isn’t just possible — it’s inevitable.
Follow Grant Sherwood for more on neuroscience, identity transformation, and personal leadership @GrantSherwood.