While working on a speech, I was reminded of a lesson I learned at the Lady and the Champs Speaker conference. This one lesson might just kick you in the butt like it did for me.
The lesson is that there are really two types of goals:
- Production goals
- Process goals
Many people in the “woo woo” Law of Attraction crowd will have you focusing on the production goals, when you should be focusing on the process goals.
What is the difference, aren’t all goals the same?
Not really, but here is a background on the goals to help you see what I mean:
Production goals are goals that state a result in dollars or another measure. A production goal could say that in the next 12 months, I am going to earn $100,000 from my speaking business. You know when it is a production goal, because usually has a number attached to it somewhere. So the goal could state a dollar value you wish to earn, the number of twitter followers you want have, or the number of pushups you can do next week.
On the other side are process goals. A process goal is focused on getting an action done. An example of a process goal could be to write a blog post every week. The process goal is focused on an activity that you have control of accomplishing. The process goals have a specific activity to be completed as an outcome. While there can be numbers to highlight now many blog posts you are going to write in what period of time, the goal is something that is dependent on you completing and not on the actions of others.
101 Goals of Doom
When I returned from Lady and the Champs, I had to see if I was a production or process goal focused person. Pulling out a goal exercise a “woo-woo” life coach had me do, I had written down 101 goals that I wanted to accomplish.
Reading through the list, I was hit in the face by my own stupidity. Instead of focusing on the process goals, I was focusing on production goals. Almost every single one of my 101 goals was about how much money I was going to make, how big of a house I was going to own, and how many customers I had. All of them product and not process goals.
And what happened? I am sitting here three years after writing out those goals, with almost none of the goals accomplished.
Motivating?
No, but it reminded me that there is a better way.
Where the Magic Really Is
Let’s get back to bashing the “woo woo” crap.
The Law of Attraction crowd loves production goals. Like the 101 goal exercise my Life Coach had me do, it is fun to get people to dream about selling a million copies of a book, getting paid a million dollars for a speech, or having millions of cult-like followers on Twitter that are willing to retweet your every thought. However, writing down that you are going to make a million dollars in the next 30 minutes doesn’t mean it is going to happen.
The Magic is in the Process
True success comes from focusing on the process goals and not production. Instead of wishing that you were 20 pounds lighter, set goals that will allow you to make it happen. Write down that you are going to work out three times this week, eat one instead of 10 donuts a day, and that you will stop intravenous injections of butter immediately.
By eliminating the production goals, you are focused on the process goals that will allow you to succeed. It is there that you will find the success that you have been seeking.
If this kicked you in the pants, then leave a comment, forward it to a friend, or hire me to help you kick your life into gear.
P.S. The external links are affiliate links. That means that I get a percentage of any purchases made through the links.
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Agree that ‘process’ is a key goal but would add ‘continuous improvement’ within the process arena is important.
Continuous process improvement will not only lead to successful personal efficiency but should also increase production.