Outcome Goals vs Behaviour-Process Goals

I’ve posted about this a few times before but it’s always worth a repeat.

I would estimate that the number has to be about 99%; 99% of people who are trying to improve their physique through diet and training, for whom all goals are OUTCOME BASED, or results based.

So they’re setting the GOALS for themselves based on a goal body fat % (this one is ridiculous btw) or a goal weight (ridiculous but less so) or a weekly, biweekly, or monthly weight-loss or body fat% loss goal. So you want to drop 15 lbs, or 10% body fat, or be 15% body fat or weigh 130 lbs. These are outcome-based goals.

Here’s the problem – you can’t actually control these precise outcome-based goals. Your body does what your body does and responds at the pace your body responds at, not the pace your MIND wants it to. The body adapts as the body adapts and YOUR body responds at it’s own individual genetic pace, not some presumed ‘average’. Let’s also not forget that progress is not ever linear (so there goes the weekly loss goals right there).

So really, you technically have no control over this. So what happens when it’s not turning out for you? You get frustrated! Go figure, it’s those darn NUMBERS getting to you again. The NUMBERS that are making or breaking your day. Every time you don’t meet your number goal, or you see a number that frustrates or disappoints you? You wind up focusing on what you still don’t have. Negative focus.

You need to be mentally and emotionally prepared to do the work required, yet still be mature enough to accept there maybe frustration along the way as well.

So what should we focus instead? What we CAN control – our actions, choices and behaviours – the ones that LEAD to awesome outcomes. These are in your control and if you’re not meeting your behaviour goals, well, you can easily start to meet them. And they will eventually lead to whatever outcome your body is going to achieve.

Mastering behaviour/process/action goals consistently over time will be one, within your control, and two, lead to great outcomes.