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Comment by rokhayakebe | Hacker News Reader

I have a different way of thinking about goals. My goal is always a specific action, and not a result. The outcome I consider it a byproduct in which I have not 100% control.

For example your goal would not be to get a raise, instead it would be to have a meeting with your boss and explain to him/her why you are confident the company should increase you salary.

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Yes, this is very effeective in the fitness arena. Instead of setting a goal to lose X amount of weight, just focus on goals over which you have more direct control (e.g. a goal to build your strength up to be able to do 20 push ups in a row, or a goal to have a jog 6 days a week for a month).

These goals aren't easy, but they are more directly under your control.

I came in here to post something akin to "InfinityXO" above, but I have to admit this comment just made something click in my head. I'm extremely driven to achieve, but I've been wondering about how to make life more about the "journey" and not the destination and this is a great suggestion.

Now that I reflect, I know I intuitively do this about things I already enjoy, like running/working out, coding, etc... but when it comes to ticking things off the to-do list (or trying new things I'm not "good" at) it's easy to be outcome-focused, which often leads to unnecessary frustration - a choice in itself of course.

Thanks for a great idea!

i find "visualize process not outcome" extremely effective, both in sports and in doing things i don't want to do.

One of my greatest procrastination sources was doing my books at the end of each month. So I turned it into kind of a game, I wrote down all the steps I need to do for my bookkeeping. Then every month I challenged myself to eliminate a step or make it easier. Since then I've been on time.

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