--- title: Life Creates Us … Then We Create Our Lives description: Discover how intention, attention, and decision-making shape our behaviors and futures. Learn to design your life with purpose and become the best version of yourself. image: https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2025%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Life%20Creates%20Us%20...%20Then%20We%20Create%20Our%20Lives.png --- [Skip to the main content.](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/life-creates-us-then-we-create-our-lives#main-content) [![MGPP Header White](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20White.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20White.png "MGPP Header White")](https://markglicini.com) [![MGPP Header Logo](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png?width=1080&height=1080&name=MGPP%20Header%20Logo.png "MGPP Header Logo")](https://markglicini.com) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) Toggle Menu Toggle Menu [Contact Us](https://share.hsforms.com/1VWcoL6s9TM6Banj_CI8rhwcj7mn) - About MGPP - [Meet Mark](https://www.markglicini.com/meet-mark) - [Our Team](https://www.markglicini.com/our-team) - [Partnerships](https://www.markglicini.com/partnerships) - [Store](https://www.proathletics.com/mark-glicini) - [Services](https://www.markglicini.com/services) - Media - [Intentionally: The Blog](https://www.markglicini.com/blog) - [Mark's Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/1Ruq1L8SNPyGmAqLdrVAVQ?si=fe35a92f2ae94518) - [Newsletters and Articles](https://www.markglicini.com/media) - [Testimonials](https://www.markglicini.com/testimonials) - [Meaningful Growth Foundation](https://www.markglicini.com/meaningful-growth-foundation) [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/mark.glicini/) [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/markglicini/) [Linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-glicini-b2698261/) [X](https://twitter.com/markglicini) 3 min read # Life Creates Us … Then We Create Our Lives [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini) : Sep 11, 2025, 7:00:00 PM ![Life Creates Us … Then We Create Our Lives](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2025%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Life%20Creates%20Us%20...%20Then%20We%20Create%20Our%20Lives.png) For every path we choose, we forgo another, usually forever. When should we let go versus fight for something? Who would we be if we decided to live in a different place, to be in a different relationship, or to work in a different field? How might our lives turn out if we slightly changed some of our choices? Because we could. We cannot alter the past. However, we can change our futures through present-moment decision-making. Clinical psychology research points to the following transitive property as an explanation for an individual’s actions: ## Intention → Attention → Decision-making → Behavior How someone behaves is a byproduct of aim, focus, and consistent choice. \[A strong argument could be made that trauma causes emotional dysregulation, and therefore, a person does not always have control over his or her behavior, which I have compassion and understanding for. Nevertheless, in a large majority of cases: manners follow motivations\]. *Exactly seven years, I walked away from Wall Street and toward Mental Performance Coaching. I felt called. I left New York City. I started my own LLC. These choices were downstream from a deep concentration on factors of holistic health, integrative wellness, and peak execution under pressure. That concentration, which is focus for an extended period of time, derived from an intentional vision: to be a light similar to the one I needed during a dark chapter of my life…* On Wall Street and in the field of Economics, “the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen” refers to opportunity cost. Vice versa, for every cost, there’s an equivalent or greater gain. If we wait too long to make a choice, we inevitably have that choice made for us via circumstance. It boils down to: What do we want? How bad do we want it? And, why?  *As I have expressed on prior blogs, I went from an All-American varsity lacrosse player to a boy in a back-brace my senior year of high school. At that same time, my mom was diagnosed with stage III cancer. I questioned who I was, what my future looked like, and how I would get back to behaviors that achieved accolades, awards, and recognition.*  *There was only one place to start, at the beginning, with intention. So when I closed my eyes, and the back of my forehead became a movie screen, I envisioned myself years down the road… healthy, grateful, being a light.* ### Events happen twice: first in imagination and then in reality. My behaviors today, although far from perfect, reflect standards set from a self-identity I created for myself years ago. As best-selling author, James Clear, emphasizes in his book Atomic Habits: “Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat… Becoming the best version of yourself requires you *to continuously edit your beliefs, and to upgrade and expand your identity… True behavior change is identity change*. You might start a habit because of motivation, but the only reason you’ll stick with one is that it becomes part of your *identity*… Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Everything we want is life is downstream from our own perceived self-identity. Since *identity* means *to make the same as* via “repeated beingness,” here’s a question to consider: What kind of human would we like to be the same as one year from today, a decade from now, and on the day of our last breath? Intentionally design an identity.  Who before do.  Life creates us… then we create our lives. —   This week, I gave a motivational speech to a high school in South Florida. Having been to several assemblies throughout my time as a student, I asked myself: What talk do I wish I heard back then? What kind of ideas do I wish I learned from a speaker? What matters most to high school students, right now, given where they are at? So, I decided to emphasize goal-setting, engagement, and belief. Here is the six-part goal-setting exercise I led the hundreds of students through: 1. What 3–5 goals do you want to accomplish one year from today? (The more specific, the more terrific!) 2. What resources do you need to achieve those goals? (Allies, angles, and assets) 3. What characteristics and qualities would you love to adopt? (I.e. Adjectives that describe the best, future version of you) 4. Who are 2-3 role models to learn from, study, and emulate? (Select who you admire) 5. What are 2-6 obstacles that could keep you achieving your one-year goals? (For example: overwhelm, anger, and fear) 6. What actions will get you from here to there? (Behaviors + sustainable frequencies = plan) ### Thoughts determine what we want; actions determine what we get! To conclude the speech, I spoke about Inner Signal \> External Noise. How do we stay true to our authentic self in a world full of lures, enticements, and temptations? As my first lacrosse coach (former Marine, head of homicide in Manhattan, and DEA agent) once said and still repeats to me each time we connect: **Be the One**. Be the one who shows up early, stays late, and commits to being their very best version. Be the one who says no to distractions and yes to their dreams. Be the one who, through patience and perseverance, makes promises to themselves and keeps them. Meditate on what breaks your heart. Turn your pain into purpose. Set your mind and cultivate a resilient mindset \[through intentional attention, decision-making, and behavior\]. Consider. Create. Commit!   — MG “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3  - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) #### Getting to Know the Author Mark is a Certified Fitness Trainer, Nutritionist, and Mental Performance Coach. He is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Sport & Performance Psychology at the San Diego University for Integrative Studies. At Mark Glicini Peak Performance, we recognize that physical health reflects mental health. We study how intention drives behavior and emphasize that true peak performance requires an integrative approach—mind, body, and spirit. [See What We Offer](https://www.markglicini.com/services) #### The Meaningful Growth Foundation As the Mark Glicini Meaningful Growth Foundation embarks on a journey of endurance and togetherness against the trials and tribulations brought upon by cancer, I state: every inch of my heart is in this. Like so many, cancer has had a profound impact on my life. It took the lives of my grandfather and uncle before I was born. For years starting in 2011, I stood by my mother’s side as she battled and overcame lymphoma. Her fortitude, unwavering support from loved ones and God’s will triumphed amid extreme adversity. Although we have not and may not win every fight, we will relentlessly strive to make an individual’s growth meaningful and to ensure his or her family feels cared for and supported. Thank you for your love, God Bless! [Contribute Today](https://donate.stripe.com/fZe7vSaDlfjvf8Q7ss) [![Purpose Inspires People](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Purpose%20Inspires%20People.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) #### [Purpose Inspires People](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 22, 2026, 7:01:00 PM When we have a big enough Why, we will find and do the How. [Read More](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/purpose-inspires-people) [![Standardize then Optimize](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Standardize%20then%20Optimize.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) #### [Standardize then Optimize](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 15, 2026, 7:32:58 PM The person who moved a mountain began by carrying away small stones. [Read More](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/standardize-then-optimize) [![The Love to Care & the Courage to not Care](https://www.markglicini.com/hubfs/2026%20Blog%20Images/MGPP%20Blog%20Take%20Care%20Carefully.png)](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/the-love-to-care-the-courage-to-not-care) #### [The Love to Care & the Courage to not Care](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/the-love-to-care-the-courage-to-not-care) [![Picture of Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Team%20Headshots/Mark%20Glicini.png?width=30&name=Mark%20Glicini.png) Mark Glicini](https://www.markglicini.com/blog/author/mark-glicini): Oct 8, 2026, 7:03:00 PM Do not be careless… care less. 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