How to Be Consistent with Goals

In this article we discuss the problem with traditional goal setting and provide a new way to set goals that will help you get better results and actually enjoy the process.

Why The Type of Goal You Set Matters

The best way to achieve health and happiness is to set goals and then work towards them, right?

Sign up for that 5k that’s 3 months from now and that will inspire you to start running more.

Set a goal to lose 10 pounds and get to work on eating better and exercising more to reach that goal.

Aim for the stars and you’ll hit the moon.

It’s pretty much common knowledge at this point that having goals will help us get the life we want and become more of the person we want to be - or will they?

Outcome Based Goals

It all depends on what kind of goals we are talking about.

Running a 5k, losing 10 pounds - these are examples of outcome goals.

An outcome based goal is the end result that you are working toward.

In other words, they are outcomes that we are trying to achieve, and strangely enough, they actually work against us and make it less likely that we will actually achieve what we want.

Wait, what?

The Problem with Outcome Based Goals

Goals can certainly inspire us to take action.

If you set a goal to run a 5k you will almost certainly be motivated to start your training program and run more often than you were.

The problem with outcome goals is not the getting started part, it’s the whole getting to the finish part that doesn’t work so well.

You know - that New Year’s resolution that the vast majority of us give up on within weeks.

The 90% of people who gain back whatever weight they lost on whatever diet or exercise program they were adhering to.

The 80-90% of drinkers who cut back or abstain only to see their drinking slowly but surely go back to normal over time.

The data are overwhelming that outcome based goals simply do not work in the long-term. 

Process Based Goals

So, how can you adjust your goal setting strategy to actually achieve consistent results over time?

It’s surprisingly easy as you just need to do this one thing.

Simply shift your focus from the outcome you want to achieve to the process you want to engage in on a day-to-day basis.

In other words, a process based goal consists of the daily actions that you can take that will bring you closer to the outcome or results you want. 

Process Based Goals Equals Consistency

If you’re thinking about signing up for a 5k (outcome goal) because you want to run more.

Don’t do it.

Instead, think about and plan how you can fit running more often into your day-to-day life - in a way that won’t stress you out and that will actually be fun for you (process goal).

And guess what, if you try running more often and it doesn’t make you feel good or make your life better, then perhaps running more often is not really something you should be striving to do.

Indeed, that would be a clear sign that you’d probably enjoy a different form of movement being a part of your day-to-day life more.  

Examples of Process Based Goals

If you want to lose weight.

Don’t pick a number on the scale (outcome goal) and go all in doing whatever it takes to get there.

That’s a sure path to depriving yourself of things you like and ensuring that whatever you end up losing will not be sustainable over time.

Instead, think about and plan how you can fit healthy foods that you actually enjoy eating and exercise that you actually enjoy doing into your day-to-day life (process goals).

If you enjoy what you are doing (the process), you’ll keep doing it over time because you like it.

It really is that simple. 

This focus on process over outcome goals has recently been embraced by some of the very best trainers and coaches in the world who are using it to achieve outstanding results.

Most Olympic and professional athletes have clear outcomes they are working towards - gold medals, championship trophies, large paychecks.

However, their trainers and coaches rarely talk about such outcomes when coaching or training.

Instead, they focus all of their attention and energy on what they can do today, right now, at this very moment, to help their athletes get faster, stronger, and more skilled.

They’ve discovered the secret that by focusing on the day-to-day process they will, without even thinking about it, put themselves and their athletes in position to achieve the outcomes they desire.

Using Process Based Goals to Be More Consistent

Now you know the secret too.

So, go ahead and decide what kinds of things you want your day-to-day life to be filled with.

Life’s too short to waste time striving for future goals that may or may not ever come, or that may not last even if we do achieve them.

Instead, work on building the kind of life you want today, right now, this moment.

These are your days, your very precious days on this planet, so use them to do the things you want in order to feel the way you want to feel.

And then watch yourself achieve things you never thought possible.