A Sure-Fire Formula For Failure

scoreboard.jpgI have some great advice if you want to fail at just about any task.

Last time I suggested Stop trying. Start training, using my invitation to join the team for FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR 2014 as an example. But this isn’t about bike-riding. The same formula works to derail accomplishing any big dream.

It’s even effective for ordinary, everyday stuff. It works because it’s simple and counter-intuitive. Whatever you’re doing, if you want to fail…

FOCUS ENTIRELY ON RESULTS

That’s it. Forget about process and keep your eyes squarely fixed on outcomes. A constant focus on the scoreboard almost guarantees failure.

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Have you ever done the right thing and gotten the wrong result?

Have you ever done the wrong thing and gotten the right result?

Since we’re talking about training and biking, I’ll use a sports metaphor.

If there’s any venue in which results matter, it’s professional sports. Winning is the ONLY measure of success. Get on base, score the goal, hit the shot and, above all else, win the game. How can you be “too focused on results” when results are the only measure of success?

And yet, any good coach will tell you: In sports—and in life—focusing on results is a great way to ensure a bad result.

Every athlete knows there’s a correct way to perform a particular skill, but doing it correctly doesn’t guarantee 100% success. Sometimes you do everything right but the opponent makes a great play or you get a bad bounce or the wind blows the wrong way. In sports and in life, doing it right doesn’t always generate the desired result.

So you yield to the temptation to cut a corner. You drop your hands or mess up your footwork, because you have to try something. And even when you do it wrong, sometimes it works. You get a lucky bounce or the opponent trips or the ref makes a bad call, and you succeed.

And since it worked, you repeat the process, and perhaps you get a second lucky break. And suddenly you’ve developed a bad habit that, over time, will inevitably lead to persistent failure.

Think this is only about sports?

A young lady doesn’t get noticed by the popular guys. One night at a party she relaxes her morals a bit, and suddenly she’s the center of interest. She likes the results (attention), so she repeats the behavior.

A salesperson always treats customers respectfully but hasn’t met the quarterly sales goal. So he sends a million spam emails with some honest-but-tricky fine print and a bunch of elderly folks fall for his scam. The boss rewards his “success” with a hefty bonus. Guess what happens next quarter.

Nehemiah visualized A GREAT WORK—re-building the walls around Jerusalem. He believed He was doing God’s work. Suppose he’d coerced or forced people into helping. What if he lied to the king about his plans and forged alliances with enemies when it was convenient?

The wall got built…that’s what matters. No harm, no foul, right? Except, what if the people lose sight of God?

See how it works?

The athlete’s bad habits prevent him from succeeding consistently at higher levels.

The young woman’s momentary “popularity” leaves longer-term internal wounds.

The salesman’s financial gain creates guilt for him and pain for his victim.

When we focus primarily on results, especially immediate results, we decrease our chances of achieving sustainable, repeatable long-term results of which we can be proud.

Immediate results always point us toward simplistic, quick-fix approaches to complex issues. They trap us on a never-ending treadmill, fighting one urgent fire after another, running ever faster to solve problems created by previous shortcuts. And all of this chasing and running doesn’t ever identify or solve the real problem.

So what’s the solution? Stop trying. Start training.

  • Do the right thing.
  • Do it the right way.
  • Understand that outcomes, especially short-term outcomes, often depend on factors beyond our control.
  • Control what you CAN control—your attitude, your effort, what you do, and how you do it.

What’s one area in which RESULTS SYNDROME has infected you?

Is there an area of life in which you might need to release your demand for a particular result?

(adapted from Bouncing Back archives 5/25/2010)

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