Goal Flip is the first part of the GOOD Method, designed to help you prioritize and automate daily habits to get results. Goal Flipping reframes traditional goal setting by switching your focus to the process instead of the outcome. It’s a more-effective strategy than traditional goal setting because although the commonly held belief seems to be that change comes simply from setting better goals and then trying harder, that’s not really how it works.
In fact, research has shown that people who focus on outcome goals—things such as losing weight, getting better muscle tone, or becoming more attractive—are less likely to meet their goals than people who set process goals—things such as having fun, working out with friends, or meeting new people. Speaking for myself, I know traditional goal setting doesn’t work because of my personal history of trying (and failing) to reach outcome-based goals. Believe me, I’ve tried all the traditional goal-setting strategies, from creating SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) goals to downloading fancy apps that track my progress to buying all kinds of planners and journals.
I even signed up for a half marathon, thinking that it would force me to finally start running constantly. Yet in reality, the half-marathon goal was kind of a disaster. Since I wanted to start running more, but didn’t know where to begin, I figured setting a goal to run a half marathon would give me the motivation to actually do it. I’ll admit that setting such a big goal felt really good. I felt cool telling people about my plans, and I had visions of myself completing the race, running across the finish line, hands in the air, feeling accomplished and victorious. It just felt so great to sign up, and printing out a three-month detailed training plan gave me such a sense of satisfaction. Finally, I had a SMART goal, and I had a plan.
Failure State
In the weeks following my half-marathon decision, I stuck to the training plan. The only problem was that I loathed the training. As in, I legit hated it. I dreaded the long-run days, and my body felt beat up for days after. The only thing keeping me going was the promise of that end goal, the day I’d run victoriously across the finish line. Now think about this; I trained for three months and completed training runs about five days a week. That’s a total of sixty days, give or take a few days, training for the goal. Now, consider, it took me just one day to run the half marathon. So essentially I spent 1 percent total of my time actually reaching the goal. Which means I spent 99 percent of the time not reaching it. No matter how you look at it, that is a lot of time not reaching the goal. I call this failure state, meaning that in pursuit of a goal we spend the majority of the time actively failing to reach it. Now I don’t know about you, but I’d rather spend the majority of my time meeting my goals, not the other way around.
Another issue that arises from operating in a failure state is the significant drop-off that typically occurs once the goal is met. It’s probably not hard to guess what happened the week after I completed that half marathon. Yeah, I stopped running. I’d met the goal, and hated the day-to-day process of getting there. Sure, I could have trained for another race; but in the end, the short-term endorphin high of reaching the goal simply wasn’t enough to sustain the daily habit of running. Andrew, on the other hand, loves running. For him, running the forest trails near our home offers both a fantastic form of exercise and an essential way to relieve stress. Like me, he decided to set a race goal, though his was to run and complete a full marathon. In setting this goal, his intention was to make running a higher priority. Unfortunately, he didn’t fully take into account his workload, family responsibilities, and the rigor of his training plan. Ultimately he made it all work; but by the time he ran the race, he felt depleted and, ironically, more stressed than when he’d started. The activity that had once served as a valuable form of stress relief had turned into the source of it.
Now maybe you’ve never set a goal to run a distance race, but perhaps instead you’ve set an outcome-based goal of getting 10,000 steps a day or closing all the rings on your fitness tracker every single day. If you’ve ever set these types of outcome-based goals, you know that at first they can be very motivating. Perhaps the goal inspires you to get up and move, and the activity feedback is informative and helpful. But then perhaps you miss a day. And then maybe two. You forget to wear your tracker and feel as though your workout didn’t “count” because your rings remain unclosed. Maybe you got sick or injured, or the 10,000-step goal wasn’t quite realistic in the first place. Then—and I’m just guessing here—you decided to stop wearing the fitness tracker. Because who wants a pedometer or tracker reminding you that you’re failing? There’s probably a proverbial fitness-tracker graveyard somewhere, littered with tracking devices cast off because of this reason. Or, maybe, hitting your daily goals or closing the rings becomes somewhat of an obsession, and what was once a helpful way to track activity devolves into something else entirely. Either way, I’m not saying to ditch running goals altogether, avoid signing up for marathons, or give up your fitness tracker. Not at all. I’m just saying there are additional ways to get results.
Delay Discounting
When you set outcome-based goals, a secondary problem can also arise, and that is what it does to your focus. When you set a goal for weeks, months, or years in the future, you automatically start living for the future. Think about that for a second. It’s pretty hard to be present, to focus on what’s happening right now, when you’re constantly thinking about what’s to come. What’s more, setting future goals causes you to lose sight of those day-to-day actions that actually lead to results.
In addition to taking your focus away from what needs to happen today, future goals also can cause you to expend precious mental energy thinking about things that haven’t happened yet. More than that, as soon as the goal starts to seem improbable or impossible, the odds of quitting go way up, meaning that the temporary burst of motivation that results from setting the goal evaporates quickly. Psychologists call this delay discounting, meaning that a reward loses value the further off it is in the future.
Here’s how delay discounting works. Imagine I offer to give you $100 today or $110 tomorrow. Which would you choose? Studies have shown that people are most likely to choose the $110 option because waiting an extra day is worth the extra $10. But now imagine I offer to give you $100 today or $110 in a month, or a year, or in ten years. Studies have also shown that for the majority, the extra $10 is not worth the cost of waiting for it. Delay discounting means that things literally lose value the longer we have to wait for them. Our hardwiring toward immediate gratification means that setting far-off goals offers an initial burst of motivation but, since it’s the day-to-day actions that actually get results, that small burst simply isn’t enough to sustain us over time.
Process over Goal
If traditional, outcome-based, future-focused goal setting doesn’t work long term, what’s the alternative? Because, if you’re like me, you still want to do great things. You want big results, and you want results that last. You’re not looking to go one and done, and you don’t want to sign up for the race only to quit during the training process, or the day after the race is completed. So I’m not saying to give up on your goals, whether that involves eating better, exercising more, writing a book, starting a podcast, switching careers, or going back to school. Whatever it is you want to do, you can still do it. This isn’t about giving up on your dreams. It’s the opposite.
Process Over Goal is a strategy that switches focus from the end outcome to the process of what it takes to get there. Recall that people who set process goals reach them faster and more often, and maintain them in the long-term. Research also shows that people who set process goals are also significantly happier all along the way. It’s by focusing on the process, the day-to-day actions, that gets you lasting, real results, and actually enjoy getting there. It requires a reframe to focus on the day-to-day and the small actions, to stop living for the future, to create change that actually lasts, and to find joy in the process.
Flip It Up
Now that you know what Process Over Goal means, let’s talk about the tactical strategy of doing it in daily life. I call this technique Goal Flipping. One of my favorite examples is in the coaching strategy of Nick Saban, currently head coach at the University of Alabama and arguably one of the greatest coaches in collegiate football history. Whether or not you’re a fan of football, there’s no denying that Saban’s coaching strategies are effective. At the time of this writing, his record is 237-63-1; as a head coach he’s won 237 out of 301 games, meaning an almost 80 percent win record. For context, that level of success in collegiate football is unprecedented. You’d think, then, that one of the most successful coaches of all time must use traditional goal-setting techniques. You’d think that Saban must have his team set SMART goals, visualizing winning national championships and focusing their attention on beating every opponent.
But that is not what he does. Instead, Coach Saban Goal Flips. Admittedly, I’m sure he doesn’t call it Goal Flipping but, nevertheless, his technique illustrates perfectly the strategy. Saban doesn’t talk to his players about winning national championships, or conference titles, or even the next game. He talks about what’s now. Each day at practice or at game time, he coaches his players to hyper-focus on executing a specific play, or series, or skill, to the best of their abilities. They’re not looking at the future or reflecting on the past. They put a constant focus on moving forward by looking at today, one action at a time. And can you guess what happens as a result of this strategy? His team wins. His team wins a lot. They win games. And conference titles. And national championships. Not by looking ahead but by focusing on the process of what’s right now. They don’t give up on results by ditching outcome-based goals. They use process-based goals to get better results.
This is what I want for you too. I want you to win. I just want you to win one day at a time. And I want you to do it with just a little bit of joy. Now, I don’t know Nick Saban personally, but I’d be willing to bet that he is not particularly concerned about making the process joyful for his players. I add joy into the Goal Flipping strategy because I know—both from experience and from the research—that making the process enjoyable will allow you to succeed long term. I personally use Goal Flipping any time I want a result. In fact, I used it to write this book. Instead of setting a traditional goal, I Goal Flipped by focusing on the daily process and the actions required to move forward toward the result of a completed book. To get to a completed book, the process is surprisingly simple. It’s sitting down and writing words. Not thinking about the book. Not researching for the book. Not talking to people about the book. But sitting down and writing words. Yes, thinking, and researching, and talking can all be part of the process. But the daily action of actually sitting down, in front of the computer, and writing words? That’s the process. Not what’s next. Just what’s now.
And here’s the thing you should know. The process? It’s often the thing we most often want to procrastinate and avoid. The hard truth is that setting an outcome-based goal often feels glamorous and exciting. We want to think that setting the goal is the same thing as doing the work, or taking the action, day in and day out. But the magic is in the process. There is magic in getting out of a failure state, of living for today instead of for the future, of doing the actual work. Sitting down and writing the words. Focusing on the process, even on the days when you don’t feel like it, or when it’s messy, imperfect, and incomplete. Especially on those days. Because, spoiler alert: The process often is messy, imperfect, and incomplete. But that’s why we have the Feel Good Mindset—self-compassionate, Power Middle, grateful progress. Gentle over perfect, one step at a time.
Mini-Milestones and Big Wins
It’s important to note, too, that Goal Flipping does not mean you have to give up on a sense of progress or growth. Both are essential to health and happiness, so documenting them is a key part of the Goal Flipping strategy. Documenting progress toward a completed book, then, starts by asking a new set of questions. Questions like, “Am I sitting down and writing words?” If yes, that’s good; this is the progress in the process. The day I submit the first draft of the manuscript, then, becomes a part of the process to be documented and acknowledged. Similarly, the day the book is published is another part of the process to be documented and celebrated. These all represent big wins, and you better believe I celebrated them. But still. They are part of the daily process. Never the end. Always a way forward.
In this process, documenting progress involves establishing what I call Mini-Milestones and Big Wins. Both keep you motivated and infuse joy into the day-to-day and are ways to mark forward progress, allowing you to celebrate the present moment, and to feel a sense of growth along the way.
Mini-Milestones in the process of writing a book might include:
Writing for three hours a day, for four out of five days this week.
Completing a full draft of a chapter by the end of next week.
And a Big Win in the process of writing a book might include:
Finishing a draft of an entire section.
Finalizing the cover design.
Turning in the first draft of the manuscript.
Completing the final page proofs.
With Mini-Milestones and Big Wins, you’re able to feel a sense of momentum and progress, and you’ll be able to pause to enjoy the journey.
Refuse to Hate the Process
Goal Flipping also requires that you intentionally infuse joy into the process. Infusing joy is necessary because there will be many days when the process will not feel sexy, shiny, or exciting. Real results come from work, commitment, consistency, and effectively navigating discomfort and challenge. But that doesn’t mean it always has to suck. The idea that you have to suffer for success is just plain wrong. To be clear, infusing joy doesn’t mean you have to love every second of the process, or that the act of change, growth, and forward progress will not be uncomfortable and challenging at times. But it doesn’t require martyrdom. You can resist. You can refuse to hate the process. Because the process is your life.
Infusing joy into the process of book writing for me includes playing my favorite music in the background, writing in a comfy chair with a cozy blanket at hand, having a mug of my favorite coffee (morning) or tea (afternoon) nearby, and diffusing my favorite oils on the bookshelf next to my desk (orange and vanilla, if you’re wondering), plus taking stretch- and walk-breaks when my body needs a respite from sitting. Simple, small things to make the day-to-day a little more enjoyable.
Taken altogether, Goal Flipping is a strategy that will allow you to focus on the process, the daily set of actions that move you in the direction toward your desired results. Forward momentum, one day at a time. If it’s running, it’s lacing up your running shoes and putting in the mileage. If you’re writing a book, it’s sitting down and writing the words. If you’re trying to change the way you eat, it’s shopping for, preparing, and eating real food. And it’s infusing little joys so you can stick with it in the long term. It’s feeling the satisfying soreness that comes from a week of exercise; finding satisfaction from writing the words, even if they aren’t good at first; or knowing the gratification of fueling your body with healthful food. Focus on the process, take the daily actions, find the joy, and do it again, and again, and again. Then watch how things begin to change.
Make It Happen Exercise: Goal Flip
If you’re ready to put Goal Flipping into action in your life, use this Make It Happen Exercise for the step-by-step.
Start with a Result
Choose a specific result that you’d like to move toward. Maybe it’s changing the way you eat to focus on whole foods, moving your body on a regular basis, or clearing the mental clutter so you feel calmer and more at peace. Perhaps it’s building a business or writing a book. Just get clear on the results you’re after. Write the result at the top of a piece of paper.
Hint: I recommend referring back to your Feel Good Vision words (see this page). You might consider selecting one of your words as a result.
Reverse Engineer
Working backward, reverse engineer the result by identifying the specific set of daily actions and habits that will create the result. List them under the result on the same piece of paper.
Mini-Milestones + Big Wins
Establish Mini-Milestones and Big Wins to keep you focused and feeling as though you’re making progress. Think about Mini-Milestones as daily to weekly progress markers, and Big Wins as progress you can celebrate and savor along the way. Write lists of both on the same piece of paper.
Infuse Joy
Check for joy; identify opportunities to infuse pleasure into the process.
Hint: Ask yourself, “How can I feel good while doing it?” “What small joys can I add to make the process more engaging?” Write these on the paper.
You now have a process blueprint for creating big results. Refer back to this piece of paper to maintain focus on the process, and celebrate those Mini-Milestones and Big Wins. Know, too, that the more you practice Goal Flipping using this exercise, the easier it will become. You’ll quickly be able to reverse engineer any results, identify the daily process, make progress, and enjoy yourself along the way.
