If You Have a Process Mindset There Must Never be Good or Bad Luck
It’s always better to have a process mindset than to have an outcome mindset. People who focus on process have their minds on the present, while those who focus on outcomes have their minds on the past and future. Moreover, change, progress, happiness, and satisfaction are products of the present moment. On the other hand, anxiety, fear, and disappointment are products of the past and future.
Unquestionably, a process mindset is the key to success in anything. This is the only mindset that forces you to take control of what you do in the present to impact the future and put the past behind you. Moreover, in the present moment you make that impact by focusing on the process of making the future you prefer the most likely future and making corrections to prevent past mistakes from reoccurring.
With this in mind, many people claim to have a process mindset but only give it lip service. The most common example of this is when someone uses bad luck as an excuse for failure but never good luck as an excuse for success. In other words, a successful outcome is because of their process, but a failed outcome is chalked up to bad luck. This is a classic mindset misalignment.
Fixing a Mindset Misalignment in the Process Mindset
A mindset misalignment is the result of being incongruent with the 5 elements that define your mindset. As a result, your thoughts, perceptions, emotions, and values drive unwanted behavior. In this case, you value your process, but don’t invest in verifying and validating your process. Instead, you “trust the process” without knowing for sure it’s working. This is a mistake.
Fundamentally, the process mindset is one in which you focus on controlling the things that are within your control. In addition, the primary input that makes a process mindset within your control is feedback that allows you to verify and validate you are following the right process. Outcomes are that input.
Therefore, to have a process mindset you must analyze outcomes not view them as a product of good or bad luck. Outcomes are critical data points that you must keep your ego out of. Furthermore, you must never view outcomes as single data points either.
Over time, outcomes tell a story about your process. Correspondingly, it’s your job to use the chapters (not pages) in that story as input to verify and validate your process. While outcomes must never be the primary focus, as long as you keep your ego out of it, using outcomes as a means to an end to improve your process is a must.