Set A.P.A.R.T.: Separation Season Guide Part 2

Become the Person Your Future Requires

The Separation Season Guide, Part 2

In the first Power Acronym in this Separation Season guide, we went A.L.O.N.E.

Through Awareness and Love, we started crafting a new Origin story, established boundaries through clear No’s, and began to Emerge beyond our old habits.

Now it is time to shift from internal reflection toward external activation.

In the movie 300, the narrator briefly describes how Spartans initiated their children into their warrior spirit. A young boy is sent into the wilderness to hunt a wolf—alone.

Through practice, observation, self-control, and mentorship, he learned everything he could learn inside the walls of home.

Eventually, there is nothing left to do but step out and face the test.

Becoming the person you want to be requires being set apart, and we set ourselves apart by the actions we take.

You are ready to set yourself A.P.A.R.T.

Power Acronym 208: A.P.A.R.T.

A — Affirm

In A.L.O.N.E., the E stood for Emerge, and I used the analogy of a kid who just took the training wheels off.

With A.P.A.R.T., we take that same image and bring it into motion. Every time you push the pedal and stay on the ride, you affirm yourself. You grow in your ability to maintain balance and increase speed.

The rider might say, “I can ride a bike,” or “I’m a bike rider.”

Before you dismiss the power of affirmation, let’s ground this in science.

Power Acronym 6 — A.B.C. — comes courtesy of BJ Fogg, author of Tiny Habits. In brief:

• A — Anchor the new habit to something you already do.

• B — Make the Behavior tiny.

• C — Celebrate when you do it.

Celebration is the focus here.

Fogg’s whole point is that emotion creates habit, not repetition alone.

One micro-celebration he suggests is saying:

“That’s like me.”

Why? Because when you affirm yourself in the moment of action, you’re not cheering the task — you’re reinforcing the identity.

Even something as simple as “That’s like me” teaches your brain, I’m the kind of person who does this.

So remember to affirm yourself and the new identity you are creating with every action that aligns with the person being set A.P.A.R.T. from the rest.

P — Picture

“The self-image is our own conception of ‘the sort of person I am’… Once an idea or a belief about ourselves goes into this picture, it becomes ‘truth’ as far as we personally are concerned.”

— Maxwell Maltz, Psycho-Cybernetics

You are who you imagine yourself to be.

Maltz goes on to say that our self-image controls our behavior the way a thermostat controls temperature.

Which begs the question:

What is your self-image set to?

In A.P.A.R.T., the P stands for Picture — because you must carry a clear mental image of the person you are striving to become.

So — who do you see yourself becoming?

This is not a one-time exercise.

Picture yourself at your absolute best:

What do you look like?

What do you feel like?

What are you doing?

Who are you with?

How do you move through the world?

Be as detailed as possible.

Holding this picture in your mind on a routine basis naturally leads to behaviors that match. Maltz explains that you are creating new “memories” — new internal experiences — that support the self-image you want.

In doing so, you build the underlying system that guides your actions.

A — Actualize

Affirm → Picture → Actualize.

Meaning: actually do it.

Affirmation and visualization matter, but nothing replaces action.

At some point, like the young Leonidas facing the wolf, you have to step forward. No one is coming to save him. He must use his training, his thinking, and his own hands to kill the beast.

So — what must you do?

Do you know?

Even imperfect action is better than inaction.

Now is the time to behave as the person you pictured — in word and deed.

This life is not a dress rehearsal. You only get one.

Make it count.

This A in A.P.A.R.T. could also stand for Accountability, because taking new actions requires responsibility.

Do you have someone who can hold you accountable?

Have you written down your commitments?

Are they on the calendar?

These are small supports, but as you actualize, your decisions will begin to affect others. You are no longer simply A.L.O.N.E. — you are being set A.P.A.R.T.

That doesn’t mean you get everything you want on your timeline. It doesn’t mean special treatment.

It simply means you’re doing something new, something not part of your old ways.

It means you are setting yourself up to show how you are truly 1 of 1.

R — Reinforce

Day 1 is exciting.

New routine. New energy. Quick wins. Momentum.

Then — life happens.

A busy week. A tough day. A sacrifice you didn’t expect.

You skip the habit. You fall back. Momentum stalls.

Sound familiar? I’ve lived this cycle myself more than once.

It happens to all of us, but that’s not an excuse — it’s a signal.

Knowing what to expect helps us prepare.

This is where Reinforcement comes in.

To reinforce means “to strengthen or support with additional material.”

While A.L.O.N.E. taught that Separation Season requires distance from old environments, relationships, and routines, it doesn’t mean this is a solo journey.

One of the best ways I stay committed is by reinforcing my goals through:

• reading books by people who’ve done what I’m trying to do

• listening to podcasts

• joining communities of people on the same path

• teaching the algorithm what to feed me by searching and consuming content around my goals for several days

• investing money into the pursuit

• bringing someone along with me for mutual accountability

I want to end Reinforce with this line from Emerson’s Self-Reliance:

“What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally aduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness.. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what your duty is better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but a great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.”

Reinforcement keeps you steady on that path.

T — Transform

What does it mean to transform?

Sit with that for a moment.

Think about the journey from A.L.O.N.E. to A.P.A.R.T.

From internal reflection to external activation.

Transformation is the outcome of being set apart long enough — and consistently enough — that you no longer resemble who you were when the season began.

This is what happens when your actions reshape your identity.

When the behaviors you’ve been practicing become your default operating system.

From forcing → to becoming.

From trying → to embodying.

From discipline → to identity.

Transformation is the moment people notice the change.

(Not that you needed their approval… but hey, thanks for noticing).

Put simply:

Transformation is the proof that the work worked.

Now is the time to celebrate this milestone.

And then: set a new target.

Aristotle believed humans are teleological — always moving toward a purpose.

The question is whether we choose that purpose or let life choose for us.

Today is the day to make your choice.

Your purpose.

Your direction.

Your next transformation.

And once you arrive?

Start again.

Because it’s always Day 1.

1 vs 1.

And you are 1 of 1.

In Closing

I hope you have gotten value from this two part Guide to Separation Season.

If A.L.O.N.E. and/or A.P.A.R.T. has made an impact on you, I would love to hear from you.

There's time for one more post in 2025 and it's coming soon:

It's a Word of the Year / 2026 Mantra.

A single word to carry you into the new year — and set the course for who you are becoming.

Subscribe so you don't miss it!