Reward Behaviors, Not Results

Focus on the weight you lift.

Not the weight you lose.

"When I drop 10lbs, I will finally be happy."

"When I get an A on that test, I will treat myself to a pedicure."

"When I get that new job or promotion, I will go shopping for new clothes." 

"When I fit into those jeans, I will go out and celebrate."

Have you ever said any of those sentences (or something similar) to yourself? Today, my goal is to send you a little "mindset shift" to help you understand and realize that it's not about rewarding results. It's about rewarding BEHAVIORS.  

Often in life, we can't control results. In fact, we can only control as far as our fingertips can reach. Anything beyond our physical reach is simply out of our control. All we can do is influence it via our behavior. 

Want to lose 10lbs? How can you reframe that goal to focus on behaviors vs. the result of losing 10lbs?  Start by asking yourself what behaviors someone would need to perform, in order to accomplish that goal.  This may be behaviors like: exercising 5x per week.  Including one extra day of HIIT training.  Eating real foods (foods that grow or have a mother).  Fasting from dinner time to breakfast time.  Lowering your carbohydrate intake, etc.   I encourage you to reach your goals, and reward yourself based on accomplishing the behaviors that may (or may not) get you to your goal, and not the actual result. 

If you tell yourself that you need to do 4 strength training workouts instead of your regular 2 each week to get closer to your weight loss goal, then give yourself a high five when you accomplish those 4 strength training workouts! Keep rewarding the behaviors, and as you do so, those behaviors become your new HABITS, and your new habits help you build a healthier body, mind, and soul.

Maybe you don't have a weight loss goal. Maybe it has to do with getting an A on a test.  Well, often we can't control the actual grade you receive. You can only control the amount of effort you put into the behavior of studying for the test.  So, if you study your ass off, putting in the time, energy, and undistracted effort, then no matter what grade you receive, you should be proud of the behaviors you did to achieve that goal.  There's no use in beating yourself up if you did your best and still got a B.  

Stop waiting to reward yourself based on results that are out of your control. You simply can only control to your fingertips. So if you have a goal in mind, a desired result, instead of focusing on the result, start celebrating the actions and behaviors you can take to give you the best odds of accomplishing it.  Along the way, give yourself high fives (rewards), for accomplishing those behaviors.

For your daily dose of inspiration and motivation, join Abby on Facebook @thetrainerinyourbackpocket and Instagram @trainerinyourbackpocket