Are You Focused on the Process or the Results?

One of the things we pride ourselves on at Fitness Evolved is getting Results.  That's why you come to us.  One of the biggest reasons we're able to get the results that we get is because we've learned a little secret along the way: Set a goal.  Design a plan that will get you there.  Then forget about the goal and focus on the process!

We are all goal-oriented, results- focused people.  That's how we function in our jobs, and what motivates us to keep going every day.  However, if you look at the top 1% of performers in any arena, be it sports, business, music, etc., you'll see a different focus.  The picture below is from a course we attended recently, and says a lot once you put it into context:

It's a little blurry, but I'll caption it for you. The person in the photo on the left is American tennis player, Andy Roddick.  Andy was a very good player, top 5 in the world at one point, but all through his career was never quite able to meet his "potential" and break through to be the most dominant player in tennis even though he had all of the tools to do so.  The photo on the right is of Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player of all time, to date.  Roger spent many years on top, and was pretty much unbeatable through most of his career until recently.

In the photos, Andy Roddick is hitting a forehand return and his eyes are already looking across the court to see where the ball went before he's even made contact:  Results Focused.  Roger Federer, on the other hand, is actually looking at the ball; watching it hit the racket while he's making his forehand return:  Process Focused.

Federer figured out early that as long as he focuses on the process and does all of the steps necessary to make a good, consistent, accurate stroke, the results will take care of themselves.  Roddick, on the other hand, was always very good, but always inconsistent and never quite able to put it all together and get the results he was looking for.  Roddick was just as good, or better, of an athlete as Federer was, but Federer was more focused on the process than the results.  He focused on the process, became great at the basics, and let the results take care of themselves.

The same goes for our training and journey towards improved health and fitness.  We all have goals, and those goals are what determine how we train/what we do.  But, if we focus only on the results and how close or far we are from our goal, we may miss opportunities along the way to tweak or improve the process that would possibly get us there faster.  

The fact of the matter is, there are many factors that are probably keeping you from your goal- more than you can keep track of or be aware of at one time.  Your body is dealing with all of those roadblocks at once, and only when we've removed the right ones or enough of them will it begin to become healthier and adapt to what we're working on.

  Paying attention to the details and taking simple steps that we know will make us healthier is the surest way to get to where we want to be.  No matter how far away you think you may be from reaching your goal, one step towards becoming healthier is only a benefit, and one step closer to reaching your goal.  If we take the time to look at and invest in the process, we have an opportunity to learn a lot about ourselves and how the body works along the way!