DON’T FOCUS ON YOUR GOALS!
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I know. I know. This is a complete anti-thesis of whatever we have been taught! But I promise you that this mindset shift will give you results that you have never imagined.
Everyone meet Mr. X. Mr. X wants to lose 10 pounds to get to a healthy weight.
Week 1 — He starts off strong — 2 workouts a day, a balanced diet and no wanted snacking.
Week 2 — He pushes through days where he doesn’t feel like working out. He reminds himself of his goal and pushes harder.
Week 3 — All the pushing he did in week 2 gets to him, he is burnt out! His goal doesn’t have the same charm that it used to.
Week 4 — He decides to call it quits because losing weight is not a “priority” anymore.
How many of us have been in the same position as Mr. X? I know I have. I had clear goals. Goals that mattered to me! But I wasn’t able to reach those goals despite my unanimous focus towards them.
Maybe focusing on the goals was the problem?
I pondered over this question and researched numerous articles, self help books and motivational videos. Here is the summary so that you don’t have to go through the ordeal —
- Most gurus agree that focussing on goals is either useless or harmful. When you focus on the goal, you focus on what you could be and not what you are. That’s an added burden to carry.
- Focussing on the goal postpones our happiness. We get into a mindset of ‘I will be happy when I reach the goal.’ If happiness is in the future what is in the present?
Now that we know why focussing on goals is bad, let’s talk about what you can do instead to reach your goals. Here is a step by step guide -
- Set a goal. Easy peasy. Mr. X’s goal is to lose 10 pounds.
- Note down the processes that will lead to that goal. The processes that would help Mr. X reach the goal are healthy eating and working out.
- Narrow down on implementations of the processes that you enjoy. Mr. X loves biking and eating…
