What If You Gave Up On Goals?
As my clients know, I love setting intentions and creating measurable goals to get to the “Wow! I can’t believe my life kicks so much ass!” moment. But here’s my secret: I don’t really care about goals, it’s just a motivating tool to try a new process.
Let me explain.
We all have things we want to achieve:
- A great career
- A happy relationship
- The perfect chocolate chip cookie (eating it, not making it)
But, that goal isn’t what gets us there, it’s the steps we take and our willingness to embrace a new way of doing things. Change is uncomfortable. The ability to say we’re working toward something comforts us as we step out of our safe zone and into the world of resumes, blind dates, and gym memberships.
Let me give you an example:
If you’re a runner, your goal might be to run a marathon.
Your process is your training schedule.
The actions you are now willing to take might be waking up earlier, buying new sneakers, or eating "goo."
Without that concrete goal, it would be hard to embrace a new process. And all those new behaviors and required actions would seem pointless and ridiculous.
But, what if we skipped that first step and focused on the process instead of the goal?
How would things be different?
We’d be happier because we’d stop saying “When I have x, then I’ll be happy.” Instead we’d be present and focus on our action steps. We’d see how far we’ve come and not how far we need to go.
This week, stop focusing on your goal and look at your process:
- What action steps are you taking?
- How do they work together to get you to where you want to be?
- Is it measurable? (I love metrics!!!)
- What would help to make your process seamless? Do you need support?
- Are you able to acknowledge how far you’ve come?
Share your goals, process, and action steps with me in the Comments section. I’m here to help!