The Fired Up Standard

Issue 003, sent Monday 2 March 2026

I Am That Woman.

One Sharp Idea

“I want” keeps your identity in the future.

“I am” brings it into the present.

For years I WANTED to be a truly fit badass, to overcome my cravings and fatigue.

Although I understood training, nutrition and recovery, I still felt weak. I continued to eat the cake and pour the wine.

It eventually shifted when I made a DECISION about who I was.

I changed my self-image, aka my identity.

Shifting my identity has been the magic behind every meaningful upgrade in my life. Business, health, relationship and life standards. Once I understood that behavior follows identity, I became much more confident about achieving my goals. It got easier because I was no longer trying to force new actions from a self-image that could not hold them.

Pull-ups are my latest proof.

Seven weeks ago I decided I was a 54 year old woman who could do pull-ups. At that point, one full pull-up felt impossible. But that did not limit me. I knew how identity works so I knew I could make it happen. Many other inspiring women my age and older have shown me that it is. So I practiced on the assisted pull-up machine three times per week. I strengthened my back and my grip. But more importantly, I strengthened my identity. I saw myself doing pull-ups from the start.

Yesterday morning, for the first time, I skipped my trusted ‘assisted’ machine and went straight to the pull-up bars. I did one and a half full unassisted pull-ups. Then I did ten with the lightest assistance band. It felt exhilarating. After a brief second of shock that I could do it, my new identity reminded me ‘of course you did’.

The repetitions strengthened my body. The DECISION strengthened my identity. My identity ultimately delivered the result. And I’m just getting started by the way.

When you stay in “I want,” you keep the standard you aspire to slightly ahead of you. You remain in pursuit of it. When you declare “I am,” your nervous system receives the instruction and your standards match that new identity, not your current mood.

Most women try to upgrade habits while holding on to the same identity that produced their current results. That’s typically why they don't get the results they want. They didn’t DECIDE who they are.

Think of your identity as the operating system your life runs on. Your habits are the software installed within it. You can keep adding new habits, new routines, new strategies. But if your operating system stays the same, your results will match the identity currently running your life.

Real change requires an upgrade at the system level.

When you upgrade your identity, your habits reorganize to match it. Your life adjusts accordingly.

At some point, the version of you that says she wants more has to truly decide who she is.

Three Powerful Questions

1. Where are you still speaking in the language of “I want” instead of stating “I am”?

2. What identity would make your desired results feel normal rather than exceptional?

3. What action will you take today that proves you are her?

Write your answers honestly. Identify where you are holding yourself back by how you are operating right now.

One Standard To Raise This Week

Choose one identity statement and live from it for the next seven days.

Treat it as instruction.

“I am a woman who trains even when it is inconvenient.”
“I am a woman who keeps her word to herself.”
“I am a woman who regulates her emotions without outsourcing relief.”

Check your behavior against that identity each day. When an action falls short, correct it and continue.

You will really thank yourself for this. This is how results become consistent.

I did not become the woman who can do pull-ups the moment my chin cleared the bar. I became her when I decided that was my standard.

My body followed.

Fitness Standard

This week, train like the woman you are becoming.

Why not try some pull-up training?

Start very gently with hanging from bars for 30 seconds. That’s how I started. It felt impossible at first, but I can easily do a 100 second hang now.

Let your hands toughen. Let your grip strengthen. Ignore the voice in your head that says ‘this is impossible’. Your body will adapt.

Commit to three practice sessions per week. That is the standard to keep. Then move on to scapula pull-ups (google them).

You are not training to impress anyone. You are training your nervous system to experience effort without drama. You are teaching your body that you follow through. As you progress, so will your trust in yourself, but start with self-belief and identifying as that fit person. Let me know how you get on with it, I’d love to hear!

Love,
Niamh

P.S. Missed the first two issues? Read 001: Building Love Intentionally and 002: Conviction Before Credentials.