The Importance of Making Progress
Scott Miker
When working towards a goal or project, it's important to remember what really matters. Simply keeping the final outcome in mind isn't enough to ensure success.
Many people make the mistake of solely focusing on the end result and end up falling short. But the key to success isn't just having a clear picture of the final goal. While it's important to have a distant vision to guide our efforts, it's equally important to focus on the progress we're making along the way.
James Clear has a great perspective on this in his book, Atomic Habits, and advises that we don’t “rise to the level of our goals but we, fall to the level of our systems”. This is great insight. The action steps we take matter more than how much we daydream about the ending.
Nick Saban is the best college football coach of all time, according to many. He did an interview several years ago where he explained that his perspective on coaching changed years ago. He said that they shifted from focusing on trying to win to focusing on the steps that they need to take to win. He credits this shift as the reason for his success.
There are two types of goals: outcome goals and process goals. Outcome goals describe the end result, while process goals outline the necessary steps to reach that outcome. Process goals are often overlooked, but they are essential for evaluating progress and identifying necessary adjustments.
By setting process goals and evaluating our progress, we can ensure we're on track to succeed. This approach replaces frustration with contentment. It replaces wishing with concrete action steps. It's a more natural way of achieving our goals, without relying solely on willpower and effort.
Focusing on progress helps us gauge our pace and direction, giving us a better idea of how we're doing and whether we'll reach our desired outcome. By embracing a systems and habits approach to improvement, we can achieve more and enjoy the journey towards our goals.
It also increases our chances of success. By taking small, regular steps we build the foundation on which success can grow. Setbacks don’t pull us down for too long because we know how to rise above them.