Week 3

July is all about Goals.

In this week's focus, learn how to become process-driven to achieve your desired results.

This month, we’ve learned the importance—or, unimportance, rather—of goals. While many of us spend the majority of our time dreaming of what life will look like once we hit that specific goal, it’s really all about the time and effort spent getting there.

In reality, many people get lost along the way. That initial laser-focus and motivation start to wane. Complacency sets in and your goal falls to the wayside.

Last week, we learned that it’s all about the process you put into place that helps you get to that goal. But in order for that process to help you achieve your desired outcome, it must be set up correctly.

In this final week, we’re learning how to set up a process-oriented system that will help you reach the final goal.

Start Here

Envision the goal you’ve set for yourself. Fast forward one year: you did not achieve your goal.

Why? Why did you fail?

This is what’s known as inversion—when you consider the opposite of what you want. This perspective shift can reveal basic roadblocks that may not be obvious at first glance as we get started on our path. Once spotted, though, you can actively avoid them.

In fact, using this inverse method can often teach us that avoiding small, everyday mistakes is equally as important as getting that desired result.

Let’s look at blood sugars as an example.

If you want to have more in-range blood sugars, the inversion of this would be, “What would someone do each day to have more out-of-range blood sugars?”

Consider the opposite of your desired result; then, you can identify important barriers that aren’t immediately obvious. What would it look like to have more out-of-range blood sugars? And, what would it take to have these out-of-range numbers?

Having out-of-range blood sugars looks like:

• Not being able to heal as easily

• Not being able to enjoy what I love doing

• Feeling cranky often

• Having trouble sleeping

I get here by:

• Not consciously considering what I’m putting into my body

• Not moving on a regular basis

• Not enjoying enough water daily

• Disengaging with my overall wellbeing

Using this inversion strategy can help to reveal small, daily barriers that you may not even realize are there. It also provides a different perspective by forcing you to prepare for the hidden obstacles that could prevent your progress. The deeper you go into this line of thought, the more you’ll be able to pull out very specific and avoidable mistakes.

Next, Do This

Once you’ve figured out what prevents you from getting to where you want to go, try these 4 tactics.

Develop awareness

When you’re ready to take action and you’ve decided on the best next steps on your journey, commit to paying attention to how the way you think and feel affects what you do. Tip: approach this with curiosity, not with judgement.

Use a growth mindset

We’ve discussed a growth mindset before. Use it to your advantage when taking on your process. Growth mindset strategies might sound like: I haven’t done this before, but I'm up for a challenge; if I hit a roadblock, I'll use it to learn.

Leverage your strengths

What are things you already do well? How can you use what you already do well to accomplish your goal? Realize your strengths and lean on them.

Rely on evidence

Start off with confidence. Go into your process by reminding yourself of goals you’ve already achieved in the past—how you did it and what that success felt like.