The simple philosophy of "I am Groot"

One of the most enduring facets from Marvel's 2014 Guardian's of the Galaxy was not Chris Pratt's Starlord, nor Zoe Saldana's Gamora. It wasn't even the the rebirth of the mixtape. It was the Ent-like Groot, with his self-assured mantra:

I - am - Groot

We went wild for him. For his heart, for his strength, his compassion, his predilection for Jackson 5. We all wanted our very own dancing baby Groot. He was perfectly crafted to bring us joy and relief.

But it was only this morning, while on a long, long bus ride, that the simple philosophy of Groot revealed itself to me. And my god is it powerful. 

Let's backtrack. 

Without revealing too much about my various neuroses (come on, we all have them), I've been going through what could be termed a personal "dip" the last month or so. The causes aren't all related to the physical, but this video from Dove will give you a good enough idea. 

We all have our inner demons or gremlins that we battle, yearly, monthly, daily, hourly. Some will most likely be with us our whole lives. Many of us try to get rid of them, or at best manage them. Some of us succumb to them more often than we'd care to admit. They're as much a part of who we are as our DNA. Some would argue that we have them to an extent precisely because of our DNA. But as Tim Lott recently wrote, unhappiness and our darker selves are as natural a state as happiness and our brighter selves. We shouldn't beat ourselves up too much for it. 

Enter Nir Eyal, stage left.

Nir writes about the intersection of psychology, technology and business. He has some fascinating insights into how technology can be designed to be "sticky", making use of small nudges to reinforce desired behaviours. His latest post, for example, dissects the secret psychology of Snapchat. Some of it makes for Orwell-esque reading, where all technology companies are out to ensnare our weak-willed selves within the webs of their apps. But beneath that, there's also the theory of what drives our behaviours, our habits. 

Over the weekend, I read one of Nir's posts entitled, Can't kick a bad habit? You're probably doing it wrong. The main message of the post is that we can change our behaviour by changing how we define ourselves. He gives the example of when he chose to become a vegetarian. Unlike me, Nir was a meat lover. And yet, by absorbing the value of "I don't eat meat" into his identity, not eating meat suddenly became very easy; it was simply a part of who he was, something that he didn't do.

Nir tells us that saying "I don't" is easier than saying "I can't". It's stronger, more definitive. It assumes "forever". 

I read the post, enjoyed it, contemplated its lessons for a while, but soon moved on to other things (... Diablo III, The Little Friend, Daredevil). I didn't think through how I could integrate it into my own life, to change some of the behaviours that I considered "bad habits". 

Until that bus ride this morning. It's amazing where you can allow your mind to wander while on a journey, and while nursing gym-induced jelly legs. 

A question for you: if you were to find yourself faced with the caterpillar from Alice's Wonderland, and asked "Who are you?", how would you respond?

These are examples of some of the things that I know to be a part of my identity; the things that combine to make up "I am Shimrit" (in no particular order):

• I am vegetarian (or in Nir's terms, I don't eat meat.)
• I am half-Israeli
• I am a bibliophile
• I am introverted
• I am an atheist
• I am self-employed
• I am 5'3"
• I am pierced and tattooed

There are also a long list of things that are negative that also form a part of my identity. Again without giving too much away, they include things like "I don't run", "I don't dance". 

One of the ways I'm trying to manage my inner gremlins is to become healthier and fitter. But those behaviours and activities don't sit naturally with this negative series of characteristics that define who I am. So as I'm trying to be healthier and fitter, the behaviours that I'm trying to adopt are in direct contradiction to who I see myself as. It makes it hard to motivate myself to actually do the activities that I know I should be, and to keep doing them.

That is, potentially, unless I follow Nir's sage advice, and change how I define myself. 

Here are a few of the "I ams" and behaviours that I aspire to:

• I am strong
• I am fit
• I am healthy
• I exercise at least four times a week
• I don't slouch

On the bus, I tried them on for size. As I repeated them to myself (...in my head), I started to feel them. I could feel the various elements that combine to make up who I am jostling around, making space for these new "I ams". I could also feel the inner gremlins receding from whence they came; there's no room for them alongside these new characteristics. 

And that is the simple beauty of Groot's philosophy. "I am Groot" stands for all that he is, it's his mantra, and we can all see the spectrum of different colours held within that single stream of light through his actions, through his tone: his compassion, his strength, his childlike-delight, his protective feelings towards his friends tinged with a rage when they're under threat. As another post I read a few weeks back said, you can be more than one thing, but that doesn't have to change the essence of who you are.

I'm still defining what "I am Shimrit" means. But pulling in those stronger, more positive definitions seem like a good start.

And so I ask you, dear reader: "Who are you?"