Trust in the Process

When it comes to achieving what we want in life, it is human nature to focus on the outcome rather than the process that is required to get there. The Philadelphia 76ers are a storied NBA basketball franchise, with three world championships on their resume and such luminaries as Wilt Chamberlain, Julius Erving, and Allen Iverson counted among their greatest players. By the early 2010s, the franchise had fallen on hard times and experienced several losing seasons in a row. Former Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie developed a mantra that he called "Trust the Process"; this was his vision for how to turn the franchise around, and it involved trading away their most valuable players (who didn't necessarily buy into this concept) in exchange for high draft picks. Hinkie was widely criticized by those who thought the Sixers were losing games on purpose, but the strategy eventually paid off. Philadelphia has made the playoffs every year since 2017-2018 and has won more than 50 games four times.

Lanny Bassham is a former world and Olympic champion rifle shooter who wrote the outstanding book "With Winning in Mind." Lanny has taught his Mental Management � system to Olympic athletes, professional golfers, Miss USA winners, and the United States military, and he teaches his students to become process-oriented instead of outcome-oriented. Bassham believes that if you are solely focused on the outcome you will become disappointed and discouraged if you do not reach it. In addition, over-trying is usually the result when you focus on winning instead of executing the process. The 1976 Olympic champion says, "Put out high-quality effort, consistently over time, and you can do anything you consistently dream of doing."

You are far more likely to achieve something if you write it down and see it every day than if you just dream about it. In his book, Bassham details an entire goal-setting system that can be applied to any endeavor, whether it is quitting smoking, succeeding in business, or becoming a champion rifle shooter. Some of the most important components include determining a goal worth trading your life for, listing the pay-value of the goal, evaluating the potential obstacles in your way, formulating a plan for how to achieve your goal, and starting now. Remember that life is about making a series of choices, and you cannot do everything that you want. Some things must be prioritized, while others may have to be pushed to the back burner or even eliminated entirely. How badly do you want to achieve this goal, and what are you willing to do to get there? Do you want immediate gratification, or are you willing to play the long game by making incremental improvements? Only you can answer these questions, but being honest with yourself, formulating a plan, and marking down your progress are positive steps to take.

What does all of this have to do with exercise? In order to succeed in terms of gaining strength, reducing body fat, building bone mineral density, improving metabolic and cardiovascular conditioning, and reducing systemic inflammation you need to have a plan of action. Otherwise, you will likely end up like so many people wandering around aimlessly in commercial gyms without the first clue of what you're doing. Contacting Total Results is the first step. We can help you formulate a plan of action and educate you on the physiology of how to stimulate positive physical change. Remember that the main exercise objective is thorough inroad, and this is the stimulus that spurs positive physical improvements. We can help you to set ambitious but achievable goals, and we'll do check-ins periodically to see how you're doing. Are you facing obstacles in your process because you aren't a morning person? We can find a time of day that works better for your schedule and helps you stay on track. 20 minutes, once or twice per week, combined with simple lifestyle changes is all that you need.

Every repetition matters, but proper form trumps everything else. Concentrate on this exercise, this repetition, this turnaround; don't worry about what comes next. Stay in the now! Total Results is the accountability partner that you need to help you achieve things that you didn't think were possible. Focus on the process and the end result will take care of itself. How badly do you want it?