The No. 1 Reason You're Falling Short With Your Health and Business Goals Don't fixate on the outcome. Instead, focus on the process.
By Julian Hayes II Edited by Dan Bova
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Being fit and rich is at the top of many people's list of desires and goals. Every year, countless folks aim to get a six-pack and start the business that they've been meaning to start. In today's world, these two goals are attainable for everyone who's reading this article.
With a simple 5-second Google search, you can find a plethora of articles explaining how to get a six-pack and make six figures. But, instead of this information empowering and leading more people to reach those goals, many are falling short with their efforts.
Related: 6 Ways to Maintain Your Fitness When You're Super Busy
People aren't getting their six-packs and six-figure businesses, not because of a lack of intelligence or capability, but instead, because they're not trusting the process. People are fixating and obsessing with the outcome instead of the process.
The dangers of fixating on the outcome.
"When I start making multiple six figures…"
"When I finally get this six pack…"
"When my company reaches a million dollars…"
"When I have more muscles…"
Being fixated on the outcome isn't serving you because you can't predict nor control the exact moment when your six-pack or six figures will arrive.
In the dating world, you can't make the girl fall in love with you at your convenience. In fitness, you can't make the weight vanish at your convenience. In business, you can't make exponential growth manifest at your convenience. These all take time and come with degrees of uncertainty.
Fixating on your outcome blocks new opportunities that could be better for you in the long-run. When you're fixated on a goal, you don't allow yourself the possibility of making a pivot. Fixating on a specific outcome can lead to you placing your self-worth on these goals, and if it doesn't go according to your fixated plan, you'll think of yourself as being less than.
Instead of fixating on the outcome, let it go and only focus on what you can control -- the process.
The process is your real friend.
The secret sauce to longevity in entrepreneurship and fitness is learning to embrace the process and placing your energy there. After all, the process provides the roadmap to making your outcome an actual reality.
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Here are three other reasons why embracing the process is your best friend.
1. You'll develop a winning mentality.
Instead of the fantasy and hoping to get a six-pack or make six figures, adopting a winning mentality of embracing the process shifts you into a mindset of inevitability with your goals. You don't know exactly when because that's out of your control, but you do know that if you continually show up, the rewards will arrive.
When constructing your winning mentality, reframe those audacious goals down into practical, empowering and action-oriented statements like "I want that six-pack, thus I need to consistently strength train, sleep and eat healthy." Or "I want to make six figures, thus I need to do "XYZ' (these steps are industry dependent)."
Place all your focus on the how as opposed to the what.
2. You'll have more clarity.
Ask yourself "Is what I'm doing today getting me closer to where I want to be tomorrow." I forgot where I heard this from, but ever since hearing this, it has served as my compass to deciding what actions to take to further my process and get me closer to my goal. Centering yourself with this question forces you to stay in the present moment and not get lost in the clouds of when and what if. If you can answer yes each day, even if it's a 1 percent improvement, you're doing good enough.
Related: The Habits of Highly Successful Entrepreneurs
3. You'll learn patience and how to play the long-term game.
Smartphones and quick Google searches have made us fall prey into being a microwave generation who craves instant gratification. Without the instant success, many people will quit and give up, especially those fixated on just the outcome.
When you're focused on the process, you understand that you have time in your pursuits. Nothing of quality and excellence happens overnight. When you stay grounded and focused on the process, this ultimately builds the business and body that you desire. Dreams, vision boards and goal-setting journals are great, but you still have to do the work each and every day.
