Make the Outcomes of Your Goals *Inevitable*
04/15/2009 04:41 PM
Most of the time, when we decide we want to make a
change in our life we set a goal. For example, Joe
wants to lose 10 pounds by July 1st. Good for Joe.
So the next thing Joe may consider is all of the things he’ll have to do to change his current behavior to accomplish this goal. Stuff like, “Eat balanced meals, avoid sweets and exercise regularly.”
All good stuff and it makes sense, right? However, it requires willpower, and honestly -- do YOU believe Joe is really gonna follow through with this? Given what little info we know about Joe, it’s easy to assume he probably won’t. Call me a pessimist, but if I’m gonna put my money on this bet I want to see more than willpower fueling the engine.
Now. What if Joe asked himself, “What do I need to do to make my desired outcome -- losing 10 pounds -- INEVITABLE?” Meaning, how can I make it almost impossible that it WON’T happen?
The answer may be something like, “work with a personal trainer 3 times a week, have balanced meals delivered to my door each day, have an accountability partner that I check in with daily, etc.”
Instead of relying merely on willpower, Joe has set up his environment to succeed. In fact, it’ll be hard not to lose weight with all of those factors in play. Setting these factors up also shows the deep commitment he has to the outcome. I have no problem betting on Joe now. Do you?
I got this huge insight and distinction from watching this video with Eben Pagan. He discusses this reframe in the last quarter of the video. Good stuff.
Watch it here.
So. What are your goals? Now what would you do to make the outcomes you want inevitable?
So the next thing Joe may consider is all of the things he’ll have to do to change his current behavior to accomplish this goal. Stuff like, “Eat balanced meals, avoid sweets and exercise regularly.”
All good stuff and it makes sense, right? However, it requires willpower, and honestly -- do YOU believe Joe is really gonna follow through with this? Given what little info we know about Joe, it’s easy to assume he probably won’t. Call me a pessimist, but if I’m gonna put my money on this bet I want to see more than willpower fueling the engine.
Now. What if Joe asked himself, “What do I need to do to make my desired outcome -- losing 10 pounds -- INEVITABLE?” Meaning, how can I make it almost impossible that it WON’T happen?
The answer may be something like, “work with a personal trainer 3 times a week, have balanced meals delivered to my door each day, have an accountability partner that I check in with daily, etc.”
Instead of relying merely on willpower, Joe has set up his environment to succeed. In fact, it’ll be hard not to lose weight with all of those factors in play. Setting these factors up also shows the deep commitment he has to the outcome. I have no problem betting on Joe now. Do you?
I got this huge insight and distinction from watching this video with Eben Pagan. He discusses this reframe in the last quarter of the video. Good stuff.
Watch it here.
So. What are your goals? Now what would you do to make the outcomes you want inevitable?