We all have fantasies of success, however we may choose to define success.
Self-help gurus have been telling us forever that if we can see it, we can be it. If we believe it, we can achieve it. If we have a clear mental picture of ourselves living the life we dream of, life will gloriously unfold in such a way that our fantasy becomes ineludible reality.
Spoiler alert: it doesn’t.
In any chosen pursuit in life, there are those who succeed, and those who don’t. But they both start with the same fantasy, the same vision, the same goal.
So, what do successful people do differently?
They use fantasy as motivation, but soon link their desired outcome to action. They know when to stop fantasizing and start making progress toward their goal.
If we want to transform fantasy into action, we should use mental simulations that imitate the process of achieving our goal, rather than simply envisioning our future self already existing in our goal state.
We engage in mental simulation whenever we imagine a given action or occurrence (or sequence of actions or occurrences) and the possible outcomes that might result.
Mental simulations may be classified in various ways, but, broadly, we can consider two primary types: outcome simulation and process simulation.
Outcome simulation involves envisioning ourselves in the state where we have already achieved our goal. This type of simulation is, essentially, fantasizing about the experience of success.
Process simulation, on the other hand, involves mentally rehearsing the steps that we must complete to achieve our goal. Using this type of simulation, we organize a series of anticipated actions into a process that will permit us to progress toward our goal.
As tennis legend Arthur Ashe put it, “Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”
How outcome simulation can derail us
Self-help gurus commonly push outcome simulation as a motivational technique. But they have yet to articulately map or model exactly how fantasizing about a goal will effectively help anyone achieve that goal.[1]
While our initial outcome fantasy could serve to inspire and motivate, it also focuses our attention on the gap that exists between where we are now and where we would like to be.[2]
If we focus on this discrepancy, our goal could begin to seem elusive or even completely unobtainable, and this could discourage us from taking purposeful action to achieve it.
Or, as is frequently the case with New Year’s resolutions, our fantasized goal state may spur us to a flurry of early activity toward achieving our goal, but we soon give up when we don’t see an immediate transformation.
Another problem with outcome simulation is that it can create a “treadmill effect.”[3] That is, the satisfaction of achieving a goal may not last, because we may immediately set a new, perhaps higher, goal. This can put is into a cycle of continuous goal pursuit that leaves us feeling as though we’re in a perpetual state of shortfall.
Positive fantasies gloss over the realities of the things we have to do to get there. They are not based on past performance, and they do not account for the realistic probability of future events. They cloud our ability to prepare for the inevitable obstacles we will face, and they interfere with our ability to plan for overcoming those obstacles.[4]
We can get lost in our vision of the future. If we carry this vision, and assume that it will eventually somehow be so, we won’t adequately prepare ourselves for the very real challenges we will face along the way.
Outcome simulation is high-level and abstract.[5] Outcome simulation focuses our attention on the desirability, rather than the achievability, of our envisioned goal.
How process simulation can keep us on track
Social psychology research has demonstrated that process simulation leads to a higher rate of goal achievement than outcome focus.[6]
Process focus stimulates action
Process simulations allow us to visualize the actions we must take to achieve a particular outcome. We imagine this series of actions unfolding over time, like a story developing in our mind. By causally connecting actions to outcomes in our mind, we create strong links between action and outcome.
If we focus only on outcome, all we see is the end of our story – our projected benefit. If we do this, we simply assume that some actions occurred, but we don’t link the outcome to these actions because we have glossed over the important details.[7]
Process simulation allows us to construct a path to our vision. This visualized course of action then seems real to us. This enhances goal achievability in our mind, which gives us confidence and makes us ready for action.[8]
Process focus keeps us engaged and motivated with small wins
Research has shown that process focus is associated with higher levels of goal involvement, pursuit, and satisfaction.[9]
One key reason for this could be that by focusing on process, we have opportunities to enjoy small rewards all along our path to goal. If we focus entirely on outcome, we usually only feel satisfied after we have achieved our ultimate aim.
If your goal is to lose 20 pounds, the vision of your thinner, happier, healthier, more stylish self may be enough to get you started, but that vision alone likely won’t be enough to sustain your effort.
If you go beyond the outcome of losing 20 pounds, you can mentally simulate eating healthier foods, eating smaller portions, drinking water instead of soda, walking, jogging, riding your bike, and so on.
Instead of delaying satisfaction until you lose the whole 20 pounds, you can celebrate small victories whenever you work your process.
Did you grab a water or unsweetened tea instead of a soda? Win. Did you take a 30-minute walk? Win. Did you take the stairs to the next floor instead of the elevator? Win.
These small wins provide a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment, keep us engaged in the process of goal pursuit, and keep us motivated to achieve our bigger goal.
It’s simple positive reinforcement. Behavior that is rewarded is likely to be repeated.
Even if our only reward is a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction, if we feel this whenever we apply our process, we will keep practicing these behaviors.
And if we continue to engage in positive behaviors, it will have a compound effect, and our good behaviors will soon become habits, our habits will become our lifestyle, and our goal will be achieved or exceeded before we know it.
Process focus makes us better planners and problem-solvers
When we use process simulation, we imagine the actions and events that must unfold in order for us to reach our goal. When we do this, we organize information about this series of events, about their sequence, and about how they relate to each other. All of this is fundamental to planning and helps us to both derive plans and assess their viability.[10]
Visualizing the process that we must use to get to our goal forces us to consider various available paths and their required actions. This forecasting and preparation can help us cope with future complexities if, when, and where we encounter them. It also yields an actual plan. Process simulation provides a clear path to our goal.
Process focus can also effectively mitigate the planning fallacy.[11] The planning fallacy occurs when we grossly underestimate the time and resources that will be required to achieve a goal. This is often the result of optimism bias, which can lead us to think that things will go much more smoothly than they probably will.
Since process simulation requires us to evaluate all the steps required to reach our goal – which will usually lead us to also consider obstacles – process focus better prepares us to avoid falling victim to the planning fallacy than outcome focus would.
Similar to the positive effect that process simulation has on planning, process focus causes us to engage other problem-solving strategies as well.[12]
With process simulation, we are thinking through our steps and considering potential obstacles. As we go through this process, we will anticipate specific problems that might arise, and we will rehearse various possible solutions. This will make us much better prepared to resolve whatever real-world issues we may have to deal with as we move toward our goal.
Process focus reduces anxiety and builds confidence
Process simulation has been shown to reduce anxiety.[13]
Much of this anxiety reduction can probably be attributed to the planning inherent in process simulation. Planning is one of the most effective ways to reduce stress and anxiety.
If we focus only on outcome, we remain largely directionless. We know where we want to end up, but we don’t have a map for getting there. We run the risk of pinballing all over the place in pursuit of our goal. This uncertainty causes stress and anxiety.
If we focus on process, we know where we want to go and how to get there. Starting off with a general plan – even if we know it might change – gives us a sense of direction and purpose and prevents a lot of the stress that comes from uncertainty from ever occurring.
All of this boosts our confidence, too.
When we focus on outcome, we have a goal. When we focus on process, we are pursuing a goal.
Process focus allows us to proceed assuredly toward our vision, secure in the knowledge that we know how to get there and how to deal with obstacles in our path.
Process focus increases our level of control
It’s best to focus on things we can control. And you have far more control over the process than the eventual outcome.
There is a verse in the Bhagavad Gita that has been translated as “Actions alone you can control, but their results, you cannot choose.”
Outcomes are external. Our process is internal.
We can’t control all of the outside influences that will impact our goal pursuit, but we can control the path we choose, the choices we make, our preparation, and our effort.
Not only does process focus give us more control over the steps we take to reach our goal, but it also gives us greater emotional control as we proceed.
When we simulate the process of reaching our goal, we mentally progress through the steps and activities required to get there. As we do this, some of the emotions involved with these activities may also be evoked, even if only at a modest level. This helps us anticipate what to expect emotionally and allows to develop a degree of control over these emotions and our reactions ahead of time.[14]
Process simulation is low-level and concrete.[15] Process focus allows us to concentrate on the feasible and achievable elements of goal pursuit that we can effectively manage and control.
There’s a process for that
I have modeled a process for gainful serendipity. If we follow that process, we can condition ourselves to recognize opportunity, and we can encounter opportunity more often.
Within that process are other processes.
We may have a process for cultivating equanimity, or for aligning ourselves with like-minded people.
We may have a process for recognizing opportunity, and another for evaluating opportunity.
And any given opportunity will mandate following some other process or processes to see it through to fruition.
There is no one-size-fits-all process for every opportunity, vision, or goal that we may set out to achieve, either.
Losing 20 pounds, learning Tuvan throat singing, writing a best-selling cookbook, opening a craft meadery – these are all unique pursuits that will involve their own processes.
All of those goals may start with a vision and a visualization of where we might be once we have achieved them. But they all require that we focus on and mentally simulate specific processes to get us to where we see ourselves ending up.
If we want to lose 20 pounds, the visualization of our thinner, more popular and stylish self may motivate us to get started. But it is the mental simulation of eating healthier foods, in smaller portions, and of running, biking, and swimming that will actually get us there.
If we want to write that best-selling cookbook, the visualization of our picture on the book jacket, of signing copies of our book for crowds of admirers, and of making guest appearances on our favorite cooking shows may inspire us to pursue this dream. But if we want to get past the dreaming stage, we need to see ourselves collecting and creating recipes, buying ingredients, testing recipes in our kitchen, improving these recipes, and writing every day.
Process focus stimulates us to action, keeps us engaged and motivated, makes us better problem-solvers and planners, reduces anxiety and builds confidence, and gives us more control.
If we have a dream, we can tell ourselves “I can do it.”
But if we want our dream to become an attainable goal, we must instead answer the question “How can I do it?”[16]
Process focus allows us to convert an abstract outcome into a manageable sequence of activities.
Process focus transforms a desirable outcome into an achievable goal.
