A lot of the time, we tend to set outcome focused goals – I want to run X far by the end of the month, or I want to hit Y for my new squat PB at the end of this program.
It’s great to have those targets but what happens if you don’t reach that outcome?
You feel like you failed, right?
Like it was all a waste of time and you’ve achieved nothing?
However, this completely negates all the training you’ve done, all the times you’ve shown up and put in the effort to improve, and all the milestones you’ve hit along the way.
This is where process goals come in.
If you set a goal to train three times a week or to improve your technical proficiency of a certain skill or lift by adding a few minutes of extra skill work to every session, you can focus on the journey and celebrate wins along the way. You can be excited about and enjoy the process, rather than hanging all your success on one final outcome.
Having process goals you can achieve and acknowledge along the way will help you stay engaged and motivated to keep training. There’s not some arbitrary number hanging over your head, there are actions you can take regularly to chalk up wins.
This helps fitness become a lifelong journey, rather than a short-term project to hit a certain outcome. There’s always new things to learn or improve at.
Detach from the outcome, focus on the process, and you’ll enjoy the journey a lot more.
