“Working with NAU, I’m curious what some of their goal-setting looks like? I realize that they put a lot of emphasis on process, but how do they balance that concept when also being excited/ hopeful about running a certain time?”

~ KARSTEN

Karsten, this is a great question. The athletes that I work with do their goal-setting with their coaches. But, I have always wondered how the NAU coaches handle conversations about specific goals. So, I reached out to Coach, Jarred Cornfield to ask. But, before I share Coach Cornfield’s response, I would like to explain some of the rationale which advocates for a process focused approach. Many of you are familiar with this, but it might be new to some.

The Process Focus

An athlete with a process focus directs their attention toward the day-to-day tasks of becoming a great athlete as opposed to the outcome (times or rankings) of a race or season. There is good rationale as to why this type of focus is preferred: a great season is the sum of great races; great races are the sum of great actions inside the race; great actions inside the race are the sum of great moment-by-moment preparation. The quality of each athlete’s moment-by-moment preparation varies. Typically, the quality of each moment of preparation is determined by how present an athlete is in that moment. An athlete mostly focused on each step of the process enables that athlete to have optimal presence. As a result, they accumulate a large sum of high quality moments, which add up to high-quality actions, which are more likely to add up to great races and great seasons.

On the other hand, an outcome focused athlete directs at least some of their attention away from their actions and instead toward imaginings of the outcome of the race or the season. They are as focused on the imagined by-product of their actions as the actions themselves. As a result, the quality of their moment-by-moment preparation is diminished and the sum of the quality of their actions is lower than a process focused athlete.

Also, when an athlete focuses on the outcome of a race or season, they invite the notion of something to lose into the race. This awareness introduces unnecessary fear and tension into the athlete’s effort and typically compromises performance.

Does a process focus mean that we should not consider specific goals at all?

Personally, I have no objection to having outcome related goals. A goal or specific standard of performance can inform the direction of an athlete’s process. Coach Cornfield agrees that it’s fine to have goals as long as they are established through logical steps:

“I think it’s great when our athletes have goals or a direction and vision of where they want to go, even if some of those are outcome oriented (scoring points at Nationals, making conference roster, etc…). However, it is important to always be taking the next logical steps. Some athletes may have strong belief in themselves but be ill-logical as to what their next step should be.

[after a goal is discussed] then everything else goes truly into the process – lifestyle habits and priorities that impact those values and desires (sleep, nutrition, stress, bodywork, school work prioritization, etc…) – then training and recovery. Then it’s our job as coaches to put them in the right competitive scenarios that also move them forward. It shouldn’t always be shoot for the stars and land short just about every time. If you do that it really makes it about the outcome.

Great process-oriented athletes [and coaches] have a strong belief that taking the next logical step forward is actually the best path forward to seeing if their end goals are possible. They also talk about and focus on the things that are present.”

I can second Coach Cornfield’s emphasis on choosing logical steps toward goals. Through my own work, I have noticed that there is a common and mistaken belief that one’s sights always need to be on the ultimate goal in order to get there. This is not true. In fact, I have been surprised by how many very elite runners have told me that they never imagined that they would be performing at the level that they are. Throughout their careers they simply focused on one step at a time, a practice which led them to heights they had never dreamed of.

I have also noticed that a “shoot-for-the-stars” orientation is common in athletes who are struggling. This is understandable. Many struggling athletes imagine that a breakthrough race is the way out of their current frustration. It is hard for them to see that their breakthrough-focused perspective is decreasing the quality of their actions, inviting fear into their efforts and is possibly the very thing inhibiting their racing.

The Real Challenge: Vulnerability Within the Unknown

When an athlete cares deeply about their athletics a state of dissatisfaction with performance is a tough space to live in. However, it is also an opportunity to develop an important capacity: the acceptance of our vulnerability within the unknown. One’s sense of vulnerability within the unknown is what an athlete is interacting with when they are struggling to progress through tough seasons.

Difficult periods illuminate the extent of our vulnerability and the magnitude of the unknown more than easy periods. During these times we meet our limited control and we are exposed to more doubts and alternate paths than the one that we preferred. But, if we can develop the capacity to accept and acknowledge our vulnerability within the unknown we develop priceless performance relevant skills. Skills like calmness within chaos, patience, discernment, willingness to be present, and a greater ability to identify our best next logical steps. The ability to function, and eventually flourish within this awareness is an important capacity for those truly wishing to see what they are capable of.

I am sure that I will teach methods to remain present within the unknown (and within uncomfortable emotions) in a later response to a question (this is covered in the parent’s MTI and focus session series level 2). For now, here is one way to handle outcome vs. process focuses that can be helpful:

Choose Your Energy Source

Lately, I have been discussing the topic of focus in terms of energy. Outcome goals carry enticing energy, like the attraction many of us feel toward candy and fast-food. It is easy for an athlete to be drawn by their imaginings of what the achievement of a certain goal might do for them, or their perceived need for these goals. It is very easy to use these imaginings as fuel in the current moment. Like candy, outcome goals are cheap, easily accessible, and for a time they taste amazing. But, the issue with relying on outcome goals as fuel is that the minute that something happens which opposes the realization of the goal, the fuel ceases and the athlete often gives up. Outcome goals also encourage athletes to measure the value of their process based on how each effort proves or disproves the likelihood of realizing their long term goals. This makes them a volatile, unreliable source of energy.

I prefer to view outcome goals and standards as wants, hopes, facts or pieces of info as opposed to an energy source. They are factors within the challenge that you chose. This does not mean that you need to be fueled by them.

In order to access better quality and more sustainable energy consider elements of your process that matter to you. For example, perhaps you want to be someone who reliably commits to the pace inside the race, or who is more willing to take risks at the end. Perhaps you want to become a more out-going teammate, or someone fully present in your intervals during practice. These are repeatable, reliable actions that require courage and thoughtfulness and love. Therefore, they have value far above outcomes and can also provide energy if you focus on them. Attending to focuses like these will sustain you through any scenario and focusing on them will likely fuel you to better race outcomes.

It’s a funny thing, isn’t it, that to get the thing we think we want we have to focus elsewhere? In particular on the moment we are in now, on this ground beneath these feet. How difficult for us humans, whose instincts tell us otherwise. Lately, I have been thinking that the willingness to be process focused, to truly attend to just the next step, is a major element of faith. It is faith that our efforts will add up to something if we trust enough to be present within them. Perhaps it is also faith that reality has our best interests at heart: perhaps reality knows (however you concieve of it) that we will arrive at the end of this particular journey and realize that it was the process that mattered all along.

Thank goodness we were taught to notice it.