Goal setting is great. It helps motivate you to succeed and to achieve the desired outcome you are looking for, but the problem is that far too many nurse practitioners (just people in general really) overly focus on their goal or the final outcome. This is the wrong mindset to have…

I want to make a million dollars within the next 2 years.

I want to start a successful niche side practice within the next 3 months.

I want to quit full-time employment within 1 year.

I want to become financially independent by 2026.

I want to obtain my DNP by 2023.

And on and on and on the goal setting goes… It becomes a relentless never-ending pursuit of achieving more and more goals. You are looking at the OUTCOMES… You are becoming “outcome dependent.” This is not good.

Do you know what the main problem here is? That too many nurse practitioners are not focusing on the PROCESSES that will result in the desired outcomes they want to achieve.

Don’t get me wrong, setting a goal is important, but instead of focusing on outcomes, focus on the PROCESS that will help you change your life for the better. Once you do this, the positive outcomes stemming from the new processes you have implemented into your life will begin to increase exponentially, and often times, as a surprise!

Outcomes that occur in life are usually out of your control. Can you structure your life in a way that increases your chances of positive outcomes? ABSOLUTELY! AND YOU SHOULD! But ultimately, outcomes are unpredictable, and you have no way to 100% know that what you are doing will result in a desired outcome.

Think about gambling as an example. Let us pretend that you throw $1,000 on a bad bet because you are just “feeling lucky” and it ends up working out for you. This outcome was TOTALLY out of your control, but you took the chance and it worked out for you. This is pure luck, but you were outcome independent and took the risk. This was focusing on a reckless process that likely would have resulted in a bad outcome, which is not what you should do, but sometimes it works.

You need to focus on the RIGHT processes, which will increase your chances of a positive outcome significantly.

Regardless, the point is that outcomes are out of your control, therefore, you need to focus on PROCESSES if you truly want to succeed.

Focus on the process of losing weight, such as your diet, vs. the goal of losing 15 pounds.

Focus on your footing and the hike itself vs. the goal of reaching the top.

Focus on the process of ramping up your digital marketing campaign vs. the goal of obtaining 10 new patients next week.

Focus on investing your money correctly vs. the goal of becoming rich in the next 5 years.

Focus on learning the ins and outs of an aesthetics practice vs. the desired outcome of having a top tier aesthetics practice by the end of the year.

You need to be CREATING processes in your life that will improve your outcomes. Focus on the processes within your business, your career, and your financial health and the outcomes will take care of themselves, and often times as a surprise. I promise!

When I create a course, do you think I focus on the outcome of it selling well? NO! I focus on the development of the course instead to ensure that the information we are putting into it is actionable, relevant, accurate, and will help you succeed. Guess what happens? The outcome takes care of itself… It ends up doing well most of the time. If it doesn’t, oh well, I gave it a shot and LEARNED a lot from the process.

When I treat a men’s health patient with testosterone, do you think I focus on the outcome of him improving his motivation and libido? NO! I focus on dialing his dose in, making sure his levels are optimal, and ensuring he is free of side effects. Guess what happens? The outcome takes care of itself… He ends up feeling better.

When I was aggressively paying off my debt, do you think I focused on the outcome of being debt free? NO! I focused on lowering my expenses, increasing my income, and being disciplined with making regular extra payments towards my debt. Guess what happened? The outcome takes care of itself… I became debt free, minus some rental property mortgages, within 3 years…

When I started my 2^nd men’s health practice, do you think I focused on the outcome of it being a passive income source that would help bring me closer to financial independence? NO! I focused on marketing this practice so more patients would come into the door and solidifying the workflow of managing a practice that is 4 hours away! Guess what has happened? The outcome takes care of itself… I just hired a new nurse practitioner to start seeing patients and we will be moving to a new and better location in a few months.

The entire point of this article is this:

Do not set goals. Do not focus on the outcomes within your life. Instead, focus on the processes that will improve your business, professional, and personal lives and stop having unrealistic expectations about a specific outcome. FOCUS ON THE PROCESS, and positive outcomes will happen! Seriously, give it a try and see your life begin to move in a positive direction!