What Process Goals Are and Why They’re Better Than Outcome Goals

We are consistently helping our clients to best frame their goals and their mindsets for the best results they can receive for the time that they invest in exercising and eating healthy. As holistic personal trainers, it is important to me to find enjoyable habits that work within each individual’s resources – their time, schedule, and budgets.

One of the most important things that we teach is the importance of focusing on process goals versus outcome goals. To take this out of the exercise/health realm, for example, every (good) salesperson is going to have a process and specific action items for each step along the way within their process. In another example, in dating and looking for a significant other, one has specific steps to take along the way – such as, the first date, for example.

Processes are very helpful, and many times, we forget them within managing our own health and fitness. This message explains what process and outcome goals are and why process goals are better to focus on than outcome goals, if a sustainable lifestyle change is your ultimate goal.

1. What an outcome goal is
   1. A goal in which success is defined by results
      1. Ex: Lose 5 lbs, fit into dress for the wedding, look good in swimsuit this summer
   2. A goal that is not under your control – it’s the big picture
   3. Too many variables
2. What a process goal is
   1. A goal in which success is defined by the completion of an action item that will take you towards your outcome goal
   2. Ex: Exercise 3x/week, reduce dessert to 1x/week, and get 8 hours of sleep nightly
   3. Completely under your control
3. Commit to a process, not a goal
   1. Don’t save your happiness, pride, or feelings of success for the outcome goal. Find joy in the process, in the journey, in the everyday actions that produce what you want in life.
4. The process is more valuable than the goal
   1. Process is an ongoing thing – a lifestyle
   2. Outcome goal has an end-point. When you get to the end, then what? You’d better set a new goal quickly or you may yo-yo back to where you started from when you began all of this
5. However, goals are still important
   1. They allow us to plan our progress
   2. Help us create our processes and systems

If you’re curious if we can be of help with you in your health, fitness, and wellness goals, please reach out to us. We’d love to have a conversation and see what we can do and explore if we may be a fit to work together in some capacity towards your goals! You CAN do it!