WEBVTT - Second Cup: Focus on process, not outcome

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>Today's tip is that when you are making goals, focus

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<v Speaker 2>on the process and not on the outcome. The process

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<v Speaker 2>is usually far more in your control, so focusing on

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<v Speaker 2>that can make goals in general feel more doable. So

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<v Speaker 2>I have talked with a lot of people about their

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<v Speaker 2>goals over the years, and I find that many of

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<v Speaker 2>them are about a desired outcome, like lose fifteen pounds

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<v Speaker 2>and fit in your old genes, or get an amazing

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<v Speaker 2>new job, meet someone special, see your net worth cross

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<v Speaker 2>a million dollars. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with

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<v Speaker 2>wanting any.

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<v Speaker 1>Of these things. The trouble is that some aspects of

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<v Speaker 1>these goals are not going to be entirely within your control.

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<v Speaker 1>The market might tank just as your brokerage account gets

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<v Speaker 1>close to seven figures. Unless you plan to work for yourself,

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<v Speaker 1>you need the organization where you want to work to

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<v Speaker 1>agree to hire you, and your dream company might be

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<v Speaker 1>in the middle of a hiring freeze. Many of us

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<v Speaker 1>have had the experience of working hard to lose weight

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<v Speaker 1>and then needing to take medication for something that then

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<v Speaker 1>puts back on the pounds that you work to lose.

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<v Speaker 1>All of this can be frustrating if we are not careful.

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<v Speaker 1>These setbacks can make us question our agency over our lives.

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<v Speaker 1>But when we focus on process, not outcome, all of

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<v Speaker 1>this changes. I may or may not lose fifteen pounds,

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<v Speaker 1>but I can focus on eating more vegetables and fewer

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<v Speaker 1>empty calories. I can exercise regularly and get enough sleep.

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<v Speaker 1>I can drink more water and less of anything else.

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<v Speaker 1>All of those things might nudge the scale or they

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<v Speaker 1>might not, depending on what else is going on, but

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<v Speaker 1>they will make me healthier, and they are within my control. Likewise,

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<v Speaker 1>you can vastly increase the chances of landing your dream

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<v Speaker 1>job by sending three notes to people in your network

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<v Speaker 1>daily talking about what you are looking for that is

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<v Speaker 1>within your control. The market can go up and down.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably need to be invested in the market to

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<v Speaker 1>build any sort of substantial wealth, but you can create

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<v Speaker 1>a budget that allows for emergencies and also allows you

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<v Speaker 1>to save twenty percent of your income. You can then

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<v Speaker 1>faithfully follow that budget and also invest in index funds,

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<v Speaker 1>making small orders every month or so. You may or

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<v Speaker 1>may not meet mister or missus right immediately. But you

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<v Speaker 1>can set up online dating profiles and arrange to go

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<v Speaker 1>on one first date per week or so until someone clicks.

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<v Speaker 1>You can ask everyone you know to set you up

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<v Speaker 1>with people, and you can put the positive mental energy

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<v Speaker 1>into this process that it often demands that is within

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<v Speaker 1>your control. I have found that focusing on process helps

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<v Speaker 1>me stick with my goals. Broadly, I would like to

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<v Speaker 1>be a well read person. So as part of that goal,

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<v Speaker 1>each year I choose a year long reading project. This year,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm reading all the works of Jane Austen at a

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<v Speaker 1>rate of ten pages per day. That's not much I

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<v Speaker 1>can control whether or not I read ten pages, and

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<v Speaker 1>so I do it. How could you focus on process?

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<v Speaker 1>Whatever your desires happen to be, Think if there is

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<v Speaker 1>something you could commit to doing regularly that would help

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<v Speaker 1>you move in that direction. Choose doable actions that won't

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<v Speaker 1>be too hard to do. You just might achieve big

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<v Speaker 1>things over time, but you will feel more in control

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<v Speaker 1>and feel more agency over your life, and that may

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<v Speaker 1>be the most powerful goal achieving strategy of all. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 3>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 3>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before

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<v Speaker 3>Breakfast Pod. That's b E the number four then Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 3>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 3>podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 3>out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 4>Thanks so much. Should I look forward to staying in touch.

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<v Speaker 4>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 4>from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 4>you listen to your favorite shows. Gang Gangga, MHM,