Reviewing the titles of recent blog posts, my answer to this question is even more obvious than it first seemed. I didn’t doubt that I was more outcome oriented than processed focused, but when 3 of my recent posts have the word “complete” in the title it seems clear that I’m really concerned about the end goal and might want to shift my thinking it a little.
This isn’t to say that goals are bad or I shouldn’t care about the outcome, but that taking time to focus on the process to get to a goal or accomplish a task makes a difference. One of the things I’ve been outcome focused on lately is the completion of my 20 hour project that caps off the 200 hour Yoga Alliance approved teacher training that I’m completing through Yoga Source Los Gatos. I’ve been so focused on the timeline that I have set in my head to finish by that I haven’t spent much time thinking through the process of completion.
As I’m working through the project (almost half way there at this point), I’m focusing on the process of learning and enjoying actually experiencing the process and project.
Focusing on outcomes can really take away from experiencing and enjoying the journey to get to the desired goal. Something that I heard during the most recent weekend training about living in the moment really resonated with me and makes me want to enjoy the process more than focusing on the end goal – If you aren’t living in and thinking about this moment, you are worrying about the unchangeable past or unpredictable future.