Process, not #goals.

*This is my last post of the year. But it’s not about 2017, or 2018, or resolutions. I’m sure many of you are disappointed. Ok not really.

So, I once read a comment on an Instagram post of yet another running pic that read: “your legs are #goals” and promptly rolled my eyes a little. Really??  That comment makes basically no sense and is not good on the body image end of things either. Perhaps I’m just becoming a crusty old curmudgeon, but doesn’t it seem that the concept of goals (no hashtag) has become thrown around so much it lacks it’s original meaning? While goals, especially for athletes and businesspeople, remain necessary steering mechanisms for intentional progress, I have a pet peeve of that word being thrown around too much. And by how goal-setting can get misused. Or our focus gets misguided too heavily on a certain goal or we minimize them to clichés/loose terminology for just something you wish you had-we kind of have opposite extremes here it seems.  

By the way, sorry Instagram comment person-you cannot ever have someone else’s legs. That’s basically impossible. -I like social media. I really do. But use your heads, kids!

Ok, end rant and on to more serious(ish) matters…. but not without one last thing-if you were wondering-the hashtag #goals according to today’s count has appeared on Instagram 47,461, 383 times. What?!

So, a colleague recently shared with me an article by Brad Stulberg (a much more accomplished and credible writer than yours truly) that originally came out in August and I couldn’t agree more with the majority of what it states. It’s also about American track and field athlete Brenda Martinez, whom I have a great deal of respect for, and her focus and process to qualify for the Olympics in the 1500.  I was immediately inspired to write this post with some commentary and thoughts on the subject, because, well this is something I’m passionate about. I love to train. I also love to help others on their journeys. I love the process of getting better so much, I must remind myself sometimes about the big picture because the grind is my thing for some reason. To me, there’s something magical about pursuing a passion simply for the feeling it gives you to simply try hard.

While you can read Stulberg’s article in its entirety and I recommend you do, so much confirms what I believe as a professional and an athlete. And wear my clients about by talking about it: process is important. So important, in fact, that you can practically push the big audacious goal you set as soon as you set it and immediately get to work. If you don’t, well, good luck with your #goals. That or you risk the side effects of hyper focusing, identity dependence, or worse, amotivation from aspiring for something too ambiguous or not realistic. Please note: I’m not saying not to set goals, but use them as guides and not absolutes because often we cannot control certain elements of outcomes we pursue. Okay, now that’s outta the way, let’s keep going-

Notice I am trying to draw a distinct line between the real meaning of goals and the hash tagged impostor that just states that you want something. Well I want a unicorn, but I don’t see that happening. The biggest thing about setting goals, is to have full ownership-not your coach, parent, spouse, aunt/uncle, or pretty pic on Instagram. You establish ownership, you can then dig into the process, which is really where all the magic happens: breaking things down, behaving as a champion might, and knowing what you need and when.

I know when I was first learning the mental side of sport a good decade ago, the concept of process came up a lot. A lot a lot. And I found it such a hard concept to grasp. You mean I just do stuff every day and it turns into a result?? Where do I start? What are the steps? What happens after I get this thing I’m after? Is this just something my coach tells me when he doesn’t have the answers? (anyone else think this? Highly likely!!)

A Process Road Trip

So, about this process…let me give you some examples that may help you. I’m a fan of analogies so let’s start there. Say a big goal is like a cross country road trip. To be cliche, lets say you're driving to Los Angeles. Or for my fellow track nerds, let’s say Oregon. If you’re a party person, then think Mexico. Anyhow…

You keep thinking about how great it will be to reach your destination and all the things you’ll do and how awesome it will be, then you realize that it will be an undertaking of like thousands of miles. The “process” of the trip looks a little something like this: You have to maintain your car, budget your money for the trip, plan where and when you’ll stop, food, getting along with one another after countless hours in the car (granted you’re not going alone), and plan for places you will want to see before the big destination. Chances are, you will get more out of this trip than you ever thought possible, and there will probably be some obstacles to overcome: unexpected flat tires, run-ins with locals, trash pandas at a campsite, intense boredom, wrong turns, etc.

 Then there’s the awesome hole-in-the-wall restaurant, views, sunrises, and stories being made daily. To do this, you need to fill the car with gas, yourself and others with coffee and food, and sleep at regular (or irregular) intervals. Each day you get closer to this destination, but you’re simply focused on the day and dealing with what comes. That’s process. Once you reach California/Oregon/Mexico, whatever, wherever you’re into-you have successfully did the things you needed to do and have hella memories from this trip. That’s process, ladies and gents. And often it’s much bigger than the original big goal. To get to California, you must first get on the freeway and keep on it.

#dopamine.

Back to sport and everything-I want to encourage all of you to become “process junkies” of sorts. According to a research study, they found increased dopamine (the pleasure and attention neurotransmitter) activity in rats when presented with a small reward or “victory” per se. Yes, I know we’re not rats, but I would hypothesize this is not exclusive to rodents with long tails that kinda gross me out sometimes. Who knows, maybe increased dopamine will make them cuter and less creepy?

Athletes are clearly not rats-unless you’re a cheater-but that’s a different topic entirely. Ever get that good feeling after a solid workout? That’s process. It’s a reward regardless of whether you win your next competition or not. You won the battle with yourself today and that’s pretty friggin' amazing. Now go do it again since you know how to do it. And I really like dopamine and I'm sure you do too.

Then there’s that time when you foam rolled morning and evening, ate your oatmeal and drank your beet juice (if you’re into that sort of thing), and hydrated all day; leaving you feeling like a real champ because you didn’t want to do any of them but went through with it anyway? That’s process. And I bet if you repeat that routine it will become habit and just “something you do”. I bet Brenda Martinez does this! And who knows, you may WANT to do these things after doing them enough because you see the effects~ says the woman who once was laying in bed, realized she forgot to foam roll and decided to get up and hit the roller. You know what, my next run was probably better because of that.

Learn something or let it go.

What about totally messing up that race/report/paper/presentation? And what you immediately did was find the fundamental error and come up with a plan for how to fix it? Process, baby. When you’re process focused, then you’re not taking your mistakes personal because they’re not a measure of self-worth, but something you do that’s necessary. Goals tend to be sneaky in that when something goes wrong, we look at how far we are from what we want (wait, you mean I’ll never get that unicorn?!?) and we often get frustrated, sad, or tempted to bend the rules instead of being like Brenda at the Trials and getting back to business.

Process is doing the same thing when you win as when you lose-routine, attitude, thought processes, focus. It’s not that you cease to be human and don’t feel emotion about what you’re doing or what you want, but it’s choosing to move forward simply because it feels good to do so. I know for me there’s something I love about being consistent, taking measured risks, taking care of my body and mind, and being ok with not knowing some things.

As you can see, taking a process-oriented focus instead of the classic “goal-oriented focus” (not to be confused ‘#goals-oriented’; we’re not talking about selfies and sushi rolls) is a great way to get what you want and take a healthier approach to performing your best. Amazing what happens when we shift our focus to things that matter in the grand scheme. Reaching (#)goals? Those are just biproducts-and that is a good thing. It’s not the goal of being an Olympian/Partner/CEO, it’s the process of becoming these things I believe we should put our attention toward. In closing, hope you’ve enjoyed and learned at least a little something during my process of rambling about process. Live it. Trust it. See it.

#BeLikeBrenda