The Secret to Having a Process Mindset
It’s no secret that having a process mindset is superior to having an outcome mindset. People who focus on processes have their minds on the present, while those who focus on outcomes have their minds on the future. As a result, process people are more satisfied in their day-to-day life and outcome people are always waiting on the future to be happy.
The problem for outcome mindset people is that the future they are waiting on may or may not ever materialize. In other words, you can exert control over a process but have very little control over outcomes.
With that said, if you are an outcome person who wants to shift to a process person, then you must take control of the process. This is the secret to having a process mindset. If you don’t know what processes you need to control to get the outcomes you want, then how can you control those processes?
You can’t! And when you don’t, the only thing you think about are outcomes. This is the root of poor performance the outcome mindset causes. Therefore, to have a process mindset you must put 100% effort in defining the processes that work for you.
How to Define the Processes That Work for You
To define the processes that work for you, you must start by doing the following five things.
1) Clarify The Vision for Your Future So it is Specific
First, you must know what you want. Or to put it differently, have a vision and make it plain.
It’s one thing to have goals for your life, it’s something different to have a vision for your life. You can reach every one of your goals and still be in the same place you were before. On the other hand, if you have vision, each one of your goals will be a stepping stone moving you closer to a destination on the map you pick.
A great metaphor for this is the example of chopping down an oak tree. If you hit an oak tree a thousand times in a thousand different places, it won’t fall. Each one of those thousand hits represent a goal and achieving each one of those goals does very little to help you chop down the tree. But if you hit that oak tree a thousand times in the same spot the outcome will be different. That tree will come crashing down.
To hit the proverbial oak tree in your life a thousand times in the same spot, you must have a vision for your life. Don’t make the mistake of setting goals without a vision for where you want those goals to take you.
Helen Keller’s words say it best:
The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but no vision.
2) Become Self-Aware
The next step after defining the vision, is to identify what tools you have that can make your vision a reality, and then learning how to use those tools properly. These tools include your talents, strengths, personality, passions, and motivations. Everyone has a different set of gifts; this step involves increasing your self-awareness about your gifts and understanding how what makes you unique can help you achieve your vision.
In addition, there may be some gaps as well. These gaps include talents you haven’t developed into strengths, limiting beliefs about yourself, and underdeveloped fundamental skills. Being self-aware about these gaps is just as important as knowing your gifts.
3) Make the Process the Goal, and the Goal the Compass
Achieving your vision is the ultimate goal, but not your current goal. Your current goal is your process. When the process is the goal, then achieving your goal is 100% within your control. By having complete control of your success or failure, you eliminate all external excuses. What’s more, when the process is the goal, you can regularly measure progress, success, or failure by your ability to stay on track following the process.
4) Make Time for Your Process Goals Every Single Day
People fail to achieve difficult goals not because of the goal itself. Instead, it’s because of how they prioritize their time. A goal is about the future, a priority is about the present. If these two are not linked, then the chance of achieving a difficult goal is slim. Daily priorities must include working on difficult goals. A difficult goal is not something you work on once a week, once a month, or whenever you feel like it. If a goal is truly difficult, it’s something one must make time for every single day.
5) Use a Goal Progression to Enjoy the Process
A goal progression is the process of moving gradually towards a more advanced state. Defining a goal progression is no different than defining a progression for a physical activity. When you define the progression for a physical activity, you must first break down the skills that need development. Once you identify that, you then develop a daily routine around developing those skills. This routine must include tracking the consistency streaks, measuring the progression, and making adjustments.
Then, every time you graduate to the next step in the progression, it serves as the compass for verifying you’re moving in the direction of progress. Moreover, these progression steps become the roses you can see, as well as take time to stop and smell by celebrating on the way to your destination. This is ultimately what leads to having a process mindset.
Process Mindset Coaching
I specialize in process mindset coaching. This entire breakdown is exactly what I can help you do, and this is what I’m passionate about. I will help you and / or your team define a vision, develop self-awareness, set process goals, then create a precise plan for executing the process as daily and weekly routines using a progression. This process will then take you to the next level.
If you are interested in learning more about my process focused coaching program and how to get started, contact me here.