I had a great discussion with a colleague of mine about setting and accomplishing goals. My focus had always been on the end goal. It would be at the forefront of my mind. This mindset rarely seemed to work for me. From our conversation I came to realize that the key to success in any area of my life will not come from setting grandiose outcome goals. The key is setting short term, attainable process goals that down the road will lead me to where I’d like to be.

If I have a client who wants to lose 15 lbs. over the next 6 weeks, she really can’t control whether or not she will lose that 15 lbs. What she can do is control the actions she will take each and every day to get closer to her outcome goal. These small behaviours are process goals and if you set the right ones you will do everything within your power to achieve them.

You have to make sure that your process goals are realistic. Setting a goal of making it to the gym twice a day 7 days a week is probably not attainable for 99.9 % of the population. Setting a more modest goal of performing 3 weight training sessions a week, followed by a couple of 45 minute walks on off days is much more doable.

Process goals shouldn’t be anxiety provoking. They need to be goals that you feel you can accomplish on a daily basis without having to turn your life upside down. Let’s say a client comes to me seeking fat loss, one process goal I would set with her would be to eat 5 servings of fresh fruit and vegetables over the course of each day. It is a realistic goal that over time will produce favourable results.

Once you put this new mindset into action, you need not feel disappointed if you don’t meet a long term goal in record time. The idea of setting and focusing on process goals is one that you can apply to every area of your life whether you are trying to get healthy, wealthy or wise. Enjoy the process and the rest will follow.