Ep 215: How to Make Strategic Mindset Shifts So You Achieve Your Goals

It's about having the clarity , self-confidence and unstoppable belief to go after and get everything you want . If you'll come with me , I'll show you how Well . Hello , friends . I hope you had an amazing week .

In this episode , we're going to build off of last week's episode , which was about transformation from the outside in , and in this week's episode , we're actually going to explore your goals in a couple of different ways .

We're going to talk about what it means to not just have a goal and dive right into taking action , but instead we're going to talk about what does it mean ? To first get your mindset , your thinking and your emotions aligned with where you want to go ?

Because we all know the thing on New Year's resolutions , most of us quit a weekend two weeks in , and we don't want that to happen this year . We want this to be the year that , whatever it is you want to go , do that . You actually go and do it , and that means you're going to need to stay with it , and that requires mindset work .

So in this episode I'm going to walk you through a really fun exercise that helps you assess the gap between where you are now with that goal and where you want to be , and then we're going to talk about how you bridge that gap in some very tangible ways , some of which build off of last week's episode , so you might want to go give that a listen too , but

this one's fun . I think you'll enjoy it . It's a very workshop style episode , so be sure you have a pen and paper ready to walk yourself through , and I hope you enjoy this week's episode on who you're being relative to your goals . It is important to do some foundational work before you start to tackle your goals .

It is important to do some foundational work before you start to tackle your goals . Most of us , when we set the goals , we'll focus entirely on the things we need to do and then we'll dive in and go do it . But I want you to understand where our actions come from , because you can't just start there .

When you set a goal , it's usually to either change something in your life or to go do something you've never done before . Usually there's something about your life that you're wanting to change and that's where the goal is coming from .

So it's important to understand that everything that drove you to where you are today , all the collective actions that you took to arrive in this place where you're setting the new goal , those were all caused by the actions and inactions you took leading up to this point .

And behind those actions and inactions that you've taken all of these years to arrive at this place that now you want to tweak or transform , our emotions caused our actions . If we're not feeling great , the actions and inactions we take are not going to serve us . But if we're feeling a positive emotion , they are more likely to take actions that serve us .

But where do our emotions come from ? They don't just appear out of nowhere and they are not caused by the things that happen . Our emotions are caused by what we're thinking day in and day out about all the things that are happening to us . Emotions are caused by our thoughts and beliefs , and we know that beliefs are just thoughts .

We think over and over again . They're caused by how we're thinking about the new goal that we want , right . So if you want something that's either next level or completely new , it stands to reason that you are not going to get there by continuing to think and feel the same way that you thought and felt leading up to this point .

That's what I mean when I talk about who are you being ? And today you're being one thing , and it might be a mix of things that you want and things that you don't want , and so the results you have in your life might be a mix of things you want and don't want . That's how most of us are .

That doesn't mean anything has gone wrong , but if you want something new , then you have to be someone new , and that is what I want to lead you through today , because if you keep thinking the same patterns of thought and you keep having the same emotions that created the results that you have today , and you just try to set new lofty goals or even small goals

and just grit it out and take that consistent action , you probably won't achieve that goal . And even if you get it , you probably are going to find it hard to hang on to it , because it's coming from a place of grit and effort and difficulty and striving . It's coming from this place of really intense , not so great , energy .

Think about a weight loss goal and think about the number of people who go after that and might initially achieve the success they want but then gain that back and then some . Right , it's because they did the things , they practiced the discipline , but they didn't change how they're thinking about themselves , how they're thinking about their life and their beliefs .

Because if they did change that first and went into the weight loss through a new thought and belief system , then all of the things that we do with weight loss like oh my gosh , I got to lose it in two months or you know , all of the things that we tell ourselves we have to do to lose weight it all gets easier if you first start with your thinking and

make sure that is aligned , those thoughts and feelings are aligned with what you really want , right ?

And that way , no matter what happens around you because 2025 is going to be like every other year , it's going to be part good and part challenging and it's going to be you showing up in those great situations and those challenging situations and you want to be able to do that from a strong mental mindset .

So , no matter what it is , you're doing that from a place of strength and you're continuing your focus on the things that you want and you're not being blown off course by the events of your life and it's just so easy to get blown off course by the events of your life and it is so easy to get blown off course .

But today I want to walk you through a different way to think about your goal getting this year , and we're going to learn on this episode who you need to be in order to get the things that you want .

So , before we dive in , what I want you to do , if you want to workshop it with me on this episode , or you can listen to it all the way through and do this later but for this part of it , I want you to take out a pen and paper or open up a Google or Word doc , and I'm going to walk you through an exercise , step-by-step , and it's probably something

you're going to want to listen to more than once , but I promise you that it will open your eyes about the real work you have to do in order to get the things that you want for 2025 . So let's go ahead and dive in . So , step number one we're going to do a little bit of time travel . I want you to imagine yourself on December 31st of 2025

. And I want you to pick one goal and you probably have many goals , but just pick one for this exercise . It could be a personal goal , like weight loss . It could be a professional goal , like next level in your title or income , or starting the business . Whatever it is , I want you to be very specific about the result that you want .

So write that down and then , as a foil to that step one B , I want you to say for that goal , where are you now ? So , for example , if you want to have your business finally get off the ground , what is that goal ? Is it a revenue goal ? Is it just launching the business ? What is it ? And where are you now ? Do you have the business ?

Are you at a certain revenue goal ? I want you to see what the gap is between where you are and where you want to be . If it's a weight goal , where do you want to be in terms of a number on the scale or a size that you wear , whatever it is ? And then I want you to say okay , where are you now ?

So that's the Delta , because a lot of this work that I'm going to walk you through is going to be looking at who you need to be in the future , but it's also going to be looking at , okay , who have you been being ? Because that's a gap too right .

If you've got a gap in the results today versus where you want to be next year , I can promise you there's a gap between what you're thinking when you have attained that goal and what you're thinking right now , leading up to this place , and all of the things that you've been feeling versus what you would be feeling if you had achieved that goal , and all of

the actions that you've been taking to get where you are now , which is a place that you want to change . We need to understand that gap , right . So that's number one . What result do you want and where are you right now relative to that result ? So that's one Step . Number two stay in the place of December 31st , 2023 , 2025 .

And I want you to put yourself in the mindset of the person who had now achieved that goal . Let's pretend that you want to uplevel your income by 30% . Now imagine you have it . You got the raise , you got the new job , you started the business , whatever it is . Imagine who is the person who has that thing .

How do you feel every day , now that you have that thing , and then I want you to because we know that emotions come from our thoughts look at that emotion you wrote down and I want you to imagine what you're thinking that would cause that emotion and I want you to list it all .

What are all the thoughts you think that you would have if you had that goal ?

So a good way to do this is by doing a thought download At the top of the page , write down that new goal and I want you to list not from a place of where you are , but imagine that you now have the goal List all of the amazing thoughts that you would have about that goal now that you have it , now that it's part of your life , now that it's just

how much money you make or just how much you weigh , or just what size you wear , how are you feeling and what are you thinking about that goal , or all the different thoughts that you're having about that . Write all of that down . Now , in step three , we're going to look at the gap and I want you to think about where you are right now .

And we looked at in step one , the current result you have relative to your goal , and I want you to think about how you feel today relative to that thing . It's probably a very different emotion , right ? Instead of pride , instead of gratitude that you have achieved the goal I mean today , maybe you're feeling a sense of lack , right ?

Maybe you're feeling demotivated , Maybe you're feeling sad , right ? Whatever it is , think about the result you have today , and I want you to think about how you feel , about where you are currently at . And then I also want you to now , in step three , I want you to do the same kind of thought download .

I want you to put your current result at the top of the page . So let's pretend it's a weight loss goal . What do you weigh today ? And let's pretend that your goal is to lose weight . I want you to think about all the things that you think about your current weight , every thought . Just keep writing . And the rule on the thought download again .

Go back and listen to episode 90 for more details , but I like to tell my clients to not write in paragraph form . Do it one sentence per line and just keep writing until it's all done . And when you feel like you've written all the thoughts down that you have about that current result that you don't want . I want you to prompt yourself and say what else ?

And just sit there quietly . What else is in there ? I want you to literally think about it , like you picked up a wet rag and you're wringing all of the water out of the rag . That's what you're trying to do . You're trying to take every thought that you have about where you're at today and put it down on paper , one sentence per line .

And why do I do the one sentence per line ? Because I want you to understand that it's not this big story . All your thoughts are today are separate sentences in your mind . They're all different thoughts that all will deliver a slightly different emotion . It's not this big , dramatic story .

So that's why I don't do it in paragraph form , because I think a lot of us think that it's this huge , complex story about why we are where we are , and really what it is is just a bunch of separate thoughts , all of which can be shifted if you want them to .

So that might require a suspension of some belief if you don't don't believe that today , but I promise you it's true . The reason I do it that way is I think it's very empowering to realize that the stories we tell ourselves about where we are and why we got there and who we are because of that are not true .

It's just really a bunch of random , one-off thoughts that got filed away that we think over and over again , and all of them can be shifted , and that's why one sentence per line is super important .

So , step three what are you feeling about your goal today ? And do a complete thought download , get it all out on paper . Step four is I want you to assess the gap . I want you to look at what your answers were in step two about being a year from now and you've already achieved that thing , how you feel , what you're thinking .

I want you to look at that and I want you to compare it to what you put in step three about where you are today with your current result , how you feel about that and all your thoughts about that .

I can promise you , for most people , if it's something you want to change , whether big or small , there's a gap there and it's pretty significant , starting with how you think right and also going into how you feel .

And I want you to look at that and be aware of that , because if you're not mindful of that gap , that is what is going to prompt you to quit .

Because even if , in the moment , you can muster up the motivation or the grit or the determination to kind of power through with the eating protocol or the gym protocol or whatever you're trying to do , how you show up at work , whatever it is you won't be able to sustain it if you don't change who you're being , how you're showing up , right .

So it's important to understand like , okay , this is where I am today and this is where I need to be , or this is where I will be once I have that , and then start asking yourself in step five how do you bridge that gap , before you start focusing on all the hacks and all the actions and all the stuff you have to do in order to achieve that ?

That's important .

I'm not diminishing taking action because you need to go do it , but before you do that , I want you to spend a little time figuring out how do you move from thinking the way you're thinking today and turning those negative thoughts into more possibilities oriented thoughts , so that over the course of the year , as you start taking the action , you're starting to

shift your mindset into the mindset of that new person . You're starting to be someone new , the person who has that thing that you want right . And I think you know one of the ways to do that the shifting . There's a lot of different ways to do it and I do think self-coaching is a really good thing .

So going into episode 90 and really understanding it and coaching yourself every day of the new year for 15 minutes in the way that I teach in episode 90 around the new goal will go a long way towards shifting you from where you are to where you want to be . But I want you to think about how badly do you want that new goal ?

Like , do you want it bad enough to become someone new and to stay with it day in and day out ? Or could you kind of care less ? Because becoming someone new there has to be a strong impetus behind it . Next level change requires discipline .

Like you think about the mindset of an elite athlete and I share this because I'm a Kansas City Chiefs fan and Patrick Mahomes is the best quarterback in the NFL . But one of the things he talked about was his father was a pitcher in the National Baseball League .

He played for a New York team , I can't remember like the Mets , maybe , I'm not sure the Yankees , one of the two . And Patrick talked about his dad . Of course , his dad's a gifted athlete it's in the genes or whatever . So Patrick was a gifted athlete too , in a couple of sports , I think .

And his dad , from the time he was young , would take him not only to the games but in the training clubhouse , right , where all the athletes were there , and he told his son hey , listen , if you want to play at this level , this is what it takes , right ?

So what he was really teaching a young Patrick Mahomes was who you have to be in order to get that thing you want . His dad told him it's not just going to happen , it's not going to happen because I'm a professional athlete . This , these people , are what you have to emulate , if that's what you want .

And he watched people like A-Rod and Derek Jeter and all the I'm not a baseball fan , but all the people back in the day that his dad played with . That's who Patrick emulated . So really , what he was teaching Patrick is this is who you have to be , this is who you have to be in order to get the thing that you want . And Patrick became that .

That's what he did , that's what drives him , and he understands . That's what it takes . That's what I'm talking about . Like , how bad do you want it ?

Because I do think , in order to get something and keep something whether it's a weight goal or a revenue goal in your business , or an income level or a type of job goal or whatever it is a relationship goal you have to want it .

You can't just coast , you know , you can't just take it as it comes , because that's not going to inspire you to become someone new . And in order to have something new , you have to become someone new . So how bad do you want it ?

And if you don't want it , that bad , keep thinking about what you do want , because I can promise you there are things that we all want , right . But then I want to talk to you about the next thing Do you truly believe that it's possible for you ?

Because in that gap that I walked you through between where you are today and where you want to go , is a requirement that you start to believe that that new thing is possible for you . And I can promise you that if you don't believe that , you know you don't have it today , but if you believe that it's just impossible , you will not stay with it .

You just won't . If you think , well , I always cheat on my diet , so you know . Or if I take it off , I'll just put it back on again . Whatever your beliefs are , that led you to where you are today , which is not having the thing that you want .

If you don't change your belief about who you are , about what's possible for you and about the fact that , whatever that thing is that you wrote down in step one with the thing that you want , if you don't believe that you can thing is that you wrote down in step one with the thing that you want , if you don't believe that you can really have that , you

will never get it . So I want you to practice believing that new thing . So the step number two , where you put yourself in the mindset of the person who has that thing what is she thinking ? What is she feeling ?

A really great thing to do as you go through the year is to keep coaching yourself on those new thoughts , practicing those new thoughts that you listed there , and continue to assess , like where you are , like we did in step three , because you could also take all of those more negative answers that you probably gave in step three about where you are today because

you don't have the goal . So you're probably wondering if it's possible and you're thinking that'll never happen or whatever it is . You can turn each one of those thoughts that were more negative into a possibilities thought . Is it possible that I could have this thing ? You could ask yourself that question and coach yourself on that .

Do a thought download on that . Could I really become the person who has that thing and coach yourself on that ?

And the last thing that I would say is , as you assess your level of belief or disbelief and you start to coach yourself every day , using the thoughts in step number two to try on the psyche of the person I want you to think about too , like , are you willing to practice showing up or being the person who already has that thing ?

I know you don't have it yet . That's why it's a goal , right , but how do you think about it in a different way ? Not as a thing that's off somewhere down the road that maybe you might have or you might not have , but how do you think about it ?

Think about it as a new outfit , one that is totally elevated , everything is amazing , accessorized perfectly , like that's your new goal . How do you , metaphorically speaking , try that on every day and keep wearing it and looking at yourself having it and imagining yourself being that person . Right , it's like for a man .

Like , how do you take the $2,000 suit or whatever and don't just have it hanging in the closet , but trying it on and practice being that person every day ? How would that person show up ? How would that person dress ?

How would that person present themselves to the world If you already had the next level salary , if you already had the business off the ground , if you already had the relationship , if you already had the weight loss , whatever it is , how would that person physically show up in a way that is different than maybe how you're doing it today , literally .

I know that sounds superficial , but when you think about transforming your psyche , there can also be an external transformation . That can be a really good way . Like thinking about the exterior presentation you're making to the world can be one of the ways that you start to believe that it's possible for you , right , whatever that looks like for you .

Like how can you start to be that person ? You can play with it a little bit , go back to the thoughts that you had , you know , in step two . Like pretending to be that person . It's like okay , well , let's play it out . How does she dress ? How does she wear her hair ? What kind of shoes is she wearing ? Like , how does she do her makeup ?

Like , who is she Like ? Who is she ? And how does she show up in a way that shows the world that she has that thing ? That can be a huge way that you start to see yourself transforming in a tangible way that can help that mindset shift be more permanent shift into a shift from disbelief to belief .

That's one way you can bridge the gap is by practicing being physically that person who has that goal . It's a really fun exercise and it's a way to make something more real , even though you don't have it today and you probably won't have it for a series of months , right , because it's going to take a while to get the goal .

But you can be that person today if you choose to . And then I want you to think about a few last things .

How are you going to continue to be that person , even on a bad day , even when all hell breaks loose , even when you're tempted to cheat , even when you try something and it fails or it doesn't work , are you willing to continue to show up and be and believe that you are the person who is working to have that thing and that it's still believable even when

the bottom falls out of your day , because getting ready for the bad days is a super important part of goal achievement , cause it's going to happen . We're going to have good days , we're going to have bad days , we're going to have things that work and things that don't work .

We're going to stay on the eating protocol and we're going to cheat Like there's going to be things that happen , but no matter what it is .

If you have the right mindset and if you continue to work on your level of belief and you continue to bridge all of the thought and emotion gaps between where you are now and where you want to be , I can promise you that the good days are going to be amazing and the bad days are a little blip . They don't matter because you stay focused on your goal .

You can cheat and forgive yourself and move on . You don't have to blow the whole week because you cheated right or you know .

If you try something and it fails , or if you go for the new job and you don't get the offer , you can either believe that it's never going to happen for you , or you can believe that this is just , this was just not meant to be , and the best thing is still coming and I can still make it happen . Right , it is about a decision and who you're being .

It starts with your mindset . But if that gap is still really wide , try to get into the psyche and the physical presence of the person who has the thing and start making some of your changes , not just from the inside out , which is about mindset , but from the outside in .

Step into this clothing , step into the persona of the person who has that thing , because that will go a long way towards you looking in the mirror and you doing the mindset work and believing that it can actually happen . That is what I wish for you this year . I wish you everything that you dream of and then some .

I believe that whatever we really want , we can have . I believe that if we can dream something , even for a moment , that it's possible for us and , I think , in some way intended for us otherwise we wouldn't have had that thought , we wouldn't want it that bad . So it doesn't matter if you've never had it before or if you've tried and failed .

None of that has anything to do with what's possible for you . But what you need to do now is get really clear on where you want to be at this time next year . Go through these exercises that I did , work on the inside out mindset stuff , and allow yourself to play with the outside in , step into the persona of the person who has that new thing .

Be your next level self in every aspect how you look , what you say , how you think , how you present yourself to the world , the clothing that you wear , the way you do your hair , the way you do all of it . Tweak it , change it and let it be aligned with where you want to go .

I have found that the mindset stuff is the key to the lasting change and the lasting transformation , but the outside in stuff can be the jumpstart that you need to believe that it's actually possible for you .

So , who you are being , think about your goals from that perspective and I can promise you that this is the year that you finally start making all of it happen . And with that I will leave you until next time

. Make it a great week . My friends , do you have a life coach ? If not , I'd be so honored to be your coach . I've created a virtual coaching program and monthly membership called Next Level . Inside we take the material you hear on this podcast , study it and then apply it . Join me at the purposefulcareercom backslash next level .

Don't forget the purposefulcareercom backslash next level . Join me and together we'll make your career in life everything you dream of . We'll see you there .