You Become What You Think About
The Copywriter Column #215
I was seventeen when I got selected to represent my high school at the Hugh O'Brian Youth Leadership Seminar.
One of the core concepts they drilled into us was something called “PMA” (Positive Mental Attitude).
At the time, it felt like motivational woo-woo. But years later, I realized they were teaching us something much deeper than just "think happy thoughts."
The core principle at play here is that you become what you think about.
And this truly isn't self-help talk – it's a fundamental law that governs how we operate in the world.
I used to tell people in my ministry days, "Be careful what you worship because you become what you look at."
The same principle applies to everything we focus our mental energy on.
Our thoughts don't just influence our mood. They shape our actions, our habits, and ultimately our results.
How This Shows Up in Marketing
Your copy reflects your mental model of your customers. The way you think about your audience becomes the way you write to them.
Think of your customers as wallets, and you'll write transactional copy that feels pushy and desperate.
Think of them as interruptions to your day, and your messaging will come across as impatient and dismissive.
But think of them as real people with genuine problems you can solve, and suddenly your copy transforms.
It becomes helpful instead of pushy.
Conversational instead of corporate.
Human instead of robotic.
Your internal narrative about your audience becomes their external experience with your brand.
The Practical Challenge
So here's your challenge: Audit the story you're telling yourself about your customers.
When you sit down to write, what's running through your head about the people who will read your words? Are they skeptical? Eager? Overwhelmed? Sophisticated? Clueless?
How might that mental model be shaping the words you choose? The tone you adopt? The assumptions you make?
What would change if you shifted how you think about them?
Final Thoughts
You become what you consistently think about. In marketing, your thoughts about your audience shape everything that follows.
Mental patterns create behavioral patterns, which create results. Your internal beliefs about your customers become external copy that either connects or repels.
So if you want better copy, start with better thinking.
The words will follow.
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