Process Versus Outcome-Focus Thinking: The Mind of Michael Phelps 🐐🥇💪

This blog post is a video transcription of the video from my YouTube channel.

Video Transcript:

"I'll know deep down inside that that was the best that I could do that day." - Michael Phelps

So recently on the blog I've been talking a lot about the problems with outcome focus thinking and the benefits of process focus thinking

Now there's been several studies that have been conducted that show the benefits of process focus thinking but just to kind of talk you through it very briefly...

There's two main problems with this approach:

Firstly, when we focus on the outcome of our efforts first of all we lose sight of the growth and progress made along the way while we were working towards achieve that desired outcome.

Secondly we neglect to create a strategy or a process that will lead us to success but when we focus on the process.

We're able to focus on what we can do daily to achieve our goal and we're not obsessing with and focusing on the future outcome that we're working towards which creates anxiety.

We're instead just worrying about what we can do every single day to ensure that we move closer and closer to achieving our set goal for ourselves.

As you know it is the 2016 Olympics in Rio and easily the most decorated Olympic swimmer in the history of the sport is Michael Phelps.

I was listening in on an interview between him and Bob Costas. Bob Costas asked him a question that directly relates to this topic of outcome and process focused thinking...

"You're a guy who likes closure you like the chapter to end the way you envision it ending, so suppose in Rio you do really, really well but in your last individual event the hundred fly you take a silver instead of a gold... Will that haunt you?" - Bob Costas

So Costas asked a question that as you can tell is focused on the outcome, he basically says Phelps if you were to go through your final race and you were not to achieve your desired outcome, which of course would be winning gold, would that haunt you?

{ *Obviously not, Phelps is a mo'fkn 100-time Gold medalist bruh* }

Phelps' response immediately shows that he is clearly thinking about the process as opposed to the outcome.

"Will that haunt me? No, because I know I could look back at how I prepared and and I would know that that I did and by Bob and I did whatever we could do to prepare herself to be the best so I think now being able to prepare how we have I'm willing to accept whatever results I get. I mean sure I'd be ticked off probably but I'll know deep down inside that that was the best that I could do that day."

- Michael Phelps 🐐🥇💪

I just love this response from Phelps because it shows you his mindset it shows you that he is solely focused on putting in the hard work and dedication that is needed to achieve his goals.

He understands that he cannot control the outcome of his efforts he can simply control the work that he gets done in order to achieve those goals which again shows you that he is totally focused on the process.

So just to kind of wrap things up as we've learned today from our homeboy Michael Phelps:

When working towards a goal, all you can do and all you can control is putting in the work needed to achieve your desired outcome. So focus on that.

Focus on the process that is required to achieve your goals and trust that if you put in the hard work it will pay off.

This is the way of a true Champion.