What would you do or who would you be if you knew the end of your life? Or, in other words, if you were guaranteed a specific result based on your desired outcomes? There are some things in life where your behavior guarantees certain outcomes. Yet, why don’t we do these behaviors when we are able to in order to achieve said desired result? It is in the daily habits that we succeed yet we don’t have that final ‘done’ feeling at the end of the day. I just hate feeling like things are undone and wondered if this happens to you, too. What I learned about my own thinking helped me to see how my lack of understanding actually was contributing to my immediate dissatisfaction. My question to solve: How do I realize my big goals that will take time to achieve? (Consistency.) How do I establish consistency? (Cue sound of crickets.) I realized that I may have been looking at my big goals in the wrong way.

Let me explain.

In my thinking, there are two types of goal timelines: lag and lead. To me, “lag” means a goal that is realized in the future based on the culmination of the past. A “lead” to me means that the change right now will have an instant result. Or, your lead behaviors result in the achievement of your lag goals. Generally, these terms are usually defined in business situations where your lag goal (e.g., revenue goals, etc.) are realized over time through the performance of a ‘lead’ goal (e.g., increasing sales, etc.). FranklinCovey has brought this into the human performance discussion as follows – and pay particular attention to the idea of ‘measures’ versus ‘goals’ which is where my distinction is a bit different:

“While a lag measure tells you if you’ve achieved the goal, a lead measure tells you if you are likely to achieve the goal…No matter what you are trying to achieve, your success will be based on two kinds of measures: Lag and Lead…Lags are measures [emphasis added] you spend time losing sleep over. They are things like revenue, profit, quality, and customer satisfaction. They are called lags because by the time you see them, the performance that drove them has already passed. You can’t do anything to fix them; they are history.

Lead measures [emphasis added] track the critical activities that drive or lead to the lag measure. They predict the success of the lag measure and are influenced directly by the team. An example of a lag measure is weight loss. Which activities or lead measures will lead to weight loss? Diet and exercise! Proper diet and exercise predict the success of weight loss, and they are activities that we can directly influence. Simple enough, but be careful: even the smartest people fall into the trap of fixating on a lag measure that they can’t directly influence. This is because lags are easier to measure and they represent the result we ultimately want. Think of a lead measure as a lever that moves your Wildly Important Goal^®.”

I emphasized in the above quote that FC was discussing ‘measures’ as opposed to ‘goals’. These feel different to me so I thought to ask my old friend, Mr. Google, what he thought. According to this website of a company which helps online business improve their presence and profitability, the definition was more towards financial. However, this definition is a bit easier to understand in terms of a goal/achievement discussion/context:

• Goal: desired end result
  • Examples: number of leads per month, dollars in sales per month, number of job applicants per job post
• Metric: measurement
  • Examples: website visits, email subscribers, contact form inquiries

Using this conceptual framework, I interpreted my lag goal of weight loss would only be realized by lead activities or measures each day that, over time, will give me the lag result. (I believe weight loss – or loss of any kind – is a poor goal. I don’t want to lose something as a goal; I want to gain something and that, Gentle Reader, is my health and sense of self.) My first shift was in the energy and momentum of gaining something (versus losing something). However, I also found that I have been focusing on my lag goal expecting lead results. Or, I need to exercise greater patience and tolerance with myself each day to allow me the space to achieve over time, taking my lag goal a day at a time through lead activities. Instead of hanging my hat on the overall lag goal, I’m focusing on today which is all I’m guaranteed – and maybe not even the whole day! I’m trusting that I will have another opportunity to do more tomorrow. And, in that, I’ve realized that my lead activities must involve self-care to create an environment for me to be successful. I’ve begun mentally focusing on the ‘lead’ activity each day without a focus on the bigass “lag” goal because the long term focus is not helpful for me, today, and will be realized if I can be successful TODAY. Not Tuesday, but TODAY. (This is my journey and yours will be different. The idea of this is for you to create some space in your heart to not be so self-critical in failure.)

I realized that I’ve been measuring many of my habits with lag goal expectations when they need to be a finer level of goal. I began making this shift about a year ago with really small steps. Mine was routine manicures. This is a visual reminder of my lead habit realizing my long term lag goal for every time I look at my hands, I feel a sense of peace. It is a little habit I created – very simple – and extremely effective. This led me to a bigger goal: feeling better in my body as I age.

Feeling better in my body took on quite a few more specific goals: eating well, mental health, improving my patience and tolerance with myself, and the creation of a daily “anchoring” exercise habit. Before I could get to the daily exercise, I had to start really small. Right now, I am currently riding my stationary bike 3.5 miles a day in 15 minutes. This is up from my starting point of 10 minutes 1.5 miles. (Progression in my lead goals leads to progress in the lag goals.) I initially tried to begin by doing 10 minutes, no mileage restriction. Did that for a day and stopped. I felt really down on myself, going down a familiar path of negative self-talk and beratement. Rather than beat myself up, I looked at myself as a corporation and did a ‘lessons learned’ on my experience. (Unemotional!!!!) I asked myself what worked before? I answered with “Nothing, you idiot.” (The negativity was overwhelming!) I then spoke to myself as I would someone who was not me, or kinder. I asked myself what could I do that is a smaller step than actually getting on my bike? Or, where was my beginning baseline for I needed to establish a smaller habit that I could consistently perform with relative ease.

What could I do? I got dressed. That was it, folks. I got dressed. This was where I was for about two weeks as I contemplated the bike. I needed to feel the inspiration and the desire to expand. (This is KEY!) I sat in this place and just loved myself for getting dressed. One day, I thought, I can do the bike now. Because I had the getting dressed habit already nailed, I naturally returned to the bike. This created momentum and, each day, I get dressed and get on the bike.

How do I know I have momentum? Well, interestingly enough, I also did a ‘lessons learned’ on why I was successful, too. (Study your successes as they teach you just like failure is a teacher and not a final result.) I give myself one day of rest each week and I really find that the following day is extremely difficult for me to obtain the same performance as the day before my break. This shows me just how important momentum is in our habits. We must ride one wave onto the shore before finding our next wave to get us even further. Now, I expect to be a little sluggish after a day off and that is OK too.

Note this again: I actually did not begin on the bike for about two weeks until I felt the getting dressed in my bike shorts, tee shirt, and sneakers was a habit that I could consistently perform with relative ease. I’m repeating this because it is extremely important for you to begin where you are currently, and what you think you may add without too much drama. Stop thinking you should be further along because you are lying to yourself. You are where you should be because your habits created this place. It’s all OK. You are OK.

You know, we humans strive for comfort and it is through our lead daily activities that we reach our lag goals. Many times, our goals are opposite our desire for comfort so this change must be confronted in a kind and loving manner. Reaching your lag goals will create new opportunities for reflection and new travels. Be prepared for you will have a whole new world open up. For me, the exercise habit has become an ‘anchoring’ goal for my entire morning routine. This includes coffee, medicines, breakfast preparation, and my Morning Pages. (Morning Pages are an awesome way to get rid of your mental clutter – highly recommend some sort of journaling support for you as a lead supportive activity.)

Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, a leading healthcare company, described the term “anchor habits” in this way which I found very true. (Here is a link to their article with good information.) “Anchor habits are small, core routines that are ingrained within us like getting up each day or, for some, exercising. Once you have an anchor habit, it’s also easier to continue adding to your routine and achieving more.” Creating an anchor habit takes time and is well-worth the journey. This journey helps you create a healthy sense of self-discipline which is one of the cornerstones of self-care. Love yourself enough to create the discipline you need to achieve your lag goals with daily lead activities.

Peace.