Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are your greatest accomplishments

People say they can recollect the proudest moments of their life in crystal clear detail. The birth of a child, their graduation day, the day of their first promotion, and even the first time they proposed to their significant other.

But I seem to have a terrible memory when it comes to remembering my proudest moments. It’s like I just look up one day, and I’m there.

Right now, the thing that I’m most proud of having accomplished is the first draft of my first novel. I started writing on 1st January 2016 and finished with a manuscript of nearly 72,000 words on 15 July 2016. I don’t remember the dates, or even where I was or what I was doing that day. But I can tell you exactly how many words I wrote on any given day during that period. That’s because I kept track of that in my diary.

It was the same thing when I lost my first 20 lbs. I don’t remember any details about the specific day I hit my target weight, but I can tell you exactly how many miles I had run each day during my six-month weight loss mission.

And through these accomplishments (and others) I have learned one thing — it’s not accomplishing the goal that I’m proud of; I’m proud of sticking to a process that enabled me to reach the goal.

Focus on the process, and you will get there

How do you write a novel? By writing 500 words per day consistently, for 6 months.

How do you lose 20 lbs? By running 3 miles every day, for 6 months.

The problem with having goals like “I want to be an author” or “I want to lose weight” is that they’re too general.

But even if you make it more specific, I don’t think it helps. “I want to hit the NY Times bestseller list” and “I want to lose 20 lbs” are much more specific, but I don’t think they help either.

This time, the problem is that they are too outcome oriented. And outcomes, are never guaranteed.

Wiser men than me have talked about focusing on systems over goals. And from my experience, I have to agree.

I like to break down my goals into a daily, actionable process. Here’s how I thought about my dream of becoming a writer:

I want to become a writer > Therefore, I must have a book to publish > So, I must write a book > To write a book, I need to tell a story in at least 50,000 words > And to write a 50,000 word story, I need to write 500 words for a 100 days.

The same thought process went into my goal of losing 20 lbs.

I want to lose weight > Therefore, I must exercise > I am not strong enough to exercise, but I can at least jog/run > I don’t know how much weight I’ll lose, but if I run every day I’ll surely lose some weight > Therefore, I will make it a point to work my way up to running 3 miles without a break > Then I will keep on running 3 miles a day until the end of the 6 month period.

In both these cases, I decided to give up the outcome and submit myself to the process. And that is how I accomplished two of the things I am most proud of in my life.

Good things come to those who persevere

I didn’t just wake up one day and find that I had accomplished my biggest goal. I slogged at it every single day. I went running even when it rained. I wrote 500 words even while I was traveling, waiting for a plane at the airport. Neither was easy or fun, but in my mind, those days stand out more than the day I reached my goal.

If you’re pursuing anything worthwhile, important, or meaningful to you, I suggest you try this method out. Break down your big goal into a daily, actionable process and go at it every day. Learn to fall in love with the process, and let go of your expectations of the outcome. That’s how you achieve your greatest accomplishments.