Reps In, Goals Out: a 3-step system to turn falling short into future results

Ever catch yourself frustrated by a lack of progress despite feeling like you're working hard? 

You're not alone. It's the most common reason for quitting ... early.  

The disconnect between effort and results often comes down to a simple truth: we expect extraordinary outcomes from ordinary input.  

Looking at myself in the gym mirror recently, I realized something powerful. I've achieved better physical results than most gym-goers not because I've obsessively chased fitness goals, but because I've consistently shown up for an hour every day.  

This pattern holds true across all domains of achievement, whether building a business, advancing a career, or mastering a skill. 

When my consulting clients express disappointment with their progress, I ask them one critical question: "Is it reasonable to expect the results you want from the work you've put in?"  

Objectively?  

There's a profound difference between subjective effort (how hard something feels) and objective effort (what's actually required). 

To bridge this gap between action and achievement, I've developed a 3-step system that prioritizes repetitions done right over goal-fixation. More hard work won't get you there. More work with strategy will!  

Ready to transform your approach to achievement?  

Tune in!  

Transcript

Reps Matter More Than Goals

Speaker 1 0:00

Hi guys and welcome back to ChangeWired Podcast Guys. You wouldn't expect apps from one gym session, wouldn't? You Would be good, though, right? So why sometimes? Often, we expect results from random effort? In general, that's what I was asking yesterday during one of my chats with fellow friend consultant speaker. A little bit later on that in detail, but in today's episode of ChangeWired we unpack why reps matter more than goals Reps in, goals out. I like to repeat If you've been chasing outcomes without showing up consistently or as consistent as the goal requires, this one episode is your wake-up call.

The Objective Cost of Excellence

Speaker 1 0:53

Let's talk about minimum viable action, the cost of excellence, the objective, true cost of excellence, and how to shift from wishing to working your way there. Today I was looking at myself in the mirror in the gym and how to shift from wishing to well working your way there. Today I was looking at myself in the mirror in the gym and I was thinking to myself well, actually, before we jump in, what you're going to get from today's podcast is a three-step process of getting any goal you want, believe it or not. Now I might not have gotten all the goals that I want, but I've gotten some, and my life is pretty amazing. I wanted to be a world traveler and world citizen, and I am. I wanted to be in a certain physical shape, and I am. I wanted to have a certain business. Well, I'm not that year, I'm not yet there, but getting there, getting results, getting more opportunities, more gigs, more inquiries. So I'm working my way up there, but sometimes impatience just gets in the way. So today I was looking at myself in the mirror and I was thinking to myself Angela, you look better than 90% of gym goers, and was it because you've been chasing some goals and been really focused on the goal? Actually, I haven't had a goal in the gym for maybe like a few years, but every day, for an hour, I'm dedicated to working out. I'm dedicated to working out, and so I look better than 90% of the gym goers not having a goal, even though some of them might be chasing goals and measuring their body fat or their body weight. So measurement and focusing on the goal doesn't do the magic.

Speaker 1 2:40

What does Showing up With my clients? When we do our weekly review, I would often ask this question First, with all of my clients, we gather data, some sort of data like how do you know that you are actually progressing, putting in the work. We need data to be able to adjust what we do, in order to adjust our actions, to perhaps get to our goals, objectives or just to get progress faster, sooner, more effectively and get some lessons for the rest of our lives. So we progress in our life, we grow in our life more effectively. But anyhow, every week with my clients, we look at the data. Depending on the goal we work on, data can be different. Sometimes it's okay You're looking to change your career path. What have you done this week for that? How many articles did you read? How many jobs did you check out? How many people that are on the same path you want to take on? Did you connect with All different assignments that we do that get the journey going?

Speaker 1 3:53

You can't just sit there and expect results to come into your life just because you want it right. So, with clients, every week we sit down like, okay, where is the data? What did we do here? And very often my clients would be frustrated. They're like I did all this but I haven't really gotten anything. Nothing was spectacular, nothing that makes me feel happy. Now, feeling happy, that's another story, but very often I would ask this question well, based on the effort that you put in this week, is it reasonable to expect that the result that you got, that you'll get this result? Is it reasonable objectively, not subjectively, like how hard it feel or challenging, or you know, I haven't done any reaching out to my next potential employer and this week I did like five and I still haven't gotten any results. But objectively, is it reasonable, from this amount of work that you're starting putting in, that you're going to get this result Like nothing? Is it reasonable objectively to think that that might be the case, that this is a reasonable outcome of the effort that you've put in so far?

Speaker 1 5:11

With clients that we're working on career progression, on changing career path, they would often have other friends who recently changed their career path and who got the job that they wanted and we would often compare like what did they do? Well, they've been doing this for months, reaching out, networking with people applying for different jobs. So they did hundreds of reps right, and you did five. And so is it reasonable to expect to get the result that you've gotten Nothing? How long did it take your friend to get where they are? And they're like, yeah, it's kind of reasonable. And then I would ask well, is it really reasonable to get frustrated at that result? Or that's fine and you just need to put in more reps, better adjusting. If you see any traction better somewhere, then maybe put in more effort there. But is it reasonable? And they're like yeah, it's reasonable.

Speaker 1 6:12

In nutrition coaching we use this phrase the cost of getting lean. So, depending on the body composition you want, if you want to have six-pack abs, it's not something that you would just land by chance, by luck. For most people it's a lot of hard work and usually the more you want to see your abs or the more cut you want to see, the leaner you want to get, the more outstanding or extraordinary physique you want, the more sacrifice you got to do and the next level will require more sacrifice. There is a reason why not everyone gets on the cover of fitness magazines being all ripped and lean and strong and looking like a superhero. There is a reason. There is a cost for that. There is a reason why not so many people go to Olympic games. There is a reason. There is a cost for that. There is a reason why not so many people go to Olympic games. There is a reason they put in the amount of work that most of us will think is crazy. So the cost of getting lean, Match your prize with the prize.

Speaker 1 7:23

Basically, the effort that you put in and you have to do that objectively. Subjectively means, well, I put in all this effort. It's more than I usually do, and it feels hard and it feels challenging. But objectively, is that effort what brought other people the result that you want to get? Or do you just feel subjectively that it's hard? Or do you just feel subjectively that it's hard? And there is again a difference. You don't get to Olympics just because you subjectively feel like you work that hard. No, there is an objective criteria of getting to the Olympics. So you kind of get to put in the work as much as required, not as much as you want. So match the prize with the prize that you want. So match the price with the price that you want.

Speaker 1 8:10

And then yesterday I was having another conversation that I mentioned at the beginning of this podcast, with a friend and he's been lately getting more and more geeks, more and more invitations to speak in different places around the world and I was kind of like, oh man, and I'm not getting that many at all. Like you know, one here, one there. But then I also remembered speaking to him many months before and he was doing consistent reaching out to different places where he could speak at, consistent reaching out day after day after day after day, and I would do like one day a week sometimes when the time and the mood align and I would like, okay, I have three hours, let me do that. And he's been doing that for days and days and days, probably every day. And then I laughed at myself.

My Speaking Journey Reality Check

Speaker 1 9:01

Like you know, steven, I'm like that gym person who gets frustrated with not getting in the top shape or in their desired shape, and they barely show up in the gym. They do a week and then they don't show up for weeks, and then they do a week again and then they don't show up for weeks again. And I'm like, I'm like that person with my work, in speaking, I show up with intensity one day and then I'm like, why am I not getting anything? Well, objectively, maybe the amount of work you put in wasn't the amount of work that was needed to actually get you anywhere. And so the purpose of this podcast first, guys, stay tuned. You're going to get a three-step process on how to create systems for finally starting getting the match between the work and the goals you expect. Right, how to start getting closer and closer towards your goals, like what systems you need. And it's a three-step, really simple process.

Speaker 1 10:06

But before that, the first question you want to ask yourself objectively and again I want to emphasize objectively is this amount of work that I've put in, is it objectively reasonable to expect the results that I want? I'm not talking about luck here, guys. I'm not talking about hitting the lottery jackpot by luck. No, you can't rely on luck. But objectively, looking at other people, is it reasonable to expect the result that I want from the work that I've put in so far? Or are we? Are you in some way that gym goer or the dieter that they come in? I'm not getting the result that I want. The six pack is not showing. But have you been really consistent on putting in the work, objective work? And if you want more objectivity, just ask Chugipity. Very simple. Want more objectivity? Just ask chat GPT. Very simple. Give chat GPT your data and ask what does it take, how long and what kind of behaviors I need to do consistently to actually expect to get that result Objectively? Ask it for objectivity, not for luck, and then ask yourself is it reasonable to expect the results that I want, given the amount of work that I've put in so far? Is it reasonable? And if it's not, then ask yourself another question Well, am I ready to put in the work required? Or it's not that important and I might redirect my attention and my energy to something different that is more aligned with, more important to the person I want to become and to the life that I want to create. So is it reasonable or am I waiting for magic?

Three-Step System for Achieving Goals

Speaker 1 11:52

Here and now let's jump into the three-step process that you need to go through if you're serious about getting to the goal that you want. And again, it's best if you focus on the work and you use your goal as a filter. And it's actually in the system. So, step number one in that system Okay, you decided on the goal, you decided, you figured out a few actions that you need to do consistently in order to get the result that you want. Like, let's say, I want to speak more. So, in order to speak more at the beginning, when you're not known, you need to reach out to different conferences, companies, to places where you want to speak at right, you need to do that consistently. You need to put in the reps just like you would in the gym.

Speaker 1 12:38

So first, number one once you have the goal, once you have the outcome, what are the hours and what exactly I'm going to do? So let's say, monday to Friday. Now I'm going to dedicate one hour to reaching out to people, organizations, for speaking opportunities. One hour a day, monday to Friday, five days a week. So I'm going to dedicate five hours a week to that. Is it reasonable to expect results from that when done consistently, in a month, in a couple of months, or just more, when I do that consistently? Yes, it is reasonable.

Speaker 1 13:16

So, number one after you define the outcome, what are the hours when you're going to do it and what exactly you're going to do? Step number two what are you optimizing for Now? Step number two is getting back to the clearly defined outcome and actually asking yourself how can I use that as a filter to choose actions, most effective actions to get me to my goal? So with any goal achievement, you're going to get different options, like there are so many things you can do to achieve a certain goal, right. So at any given moment while achieving an outcome, you need to ask yourself what am I optimizing here right now In terms of public speaking?

Speaker 1 14:03

I'm optimizing for getting yeses, for right now, it's just speaking anywhere. So that's my optimizing filter. Actually, no, it's a little bit more subtle Speaking at places where my potential clients, the work that I'm doing culture transformation and change leadership, consultancy where my ideal clients go For me, those are HR people at organizations. Also, business owners are a great crowd, but I'm choosing to focus on HR in different organizations. So this is my optimization filter.

Speaker 1 14:38

I'm not going to be reaching out to every single event out there. I might, just because my goal is not to just speak anywhere, but actually speak to be known by the people that can and want to hire me, right. So this is my optimizing filter and it's very important. Otherwise, you might be just doing a bunch of stuff, just like a lot of people do a bunch of stuff in the gym for years and never get the result that you actually care about. So your optimization filter, your optimizing filter what is it? What are you actually? And be here very specific Are you trying to just speak anywhere or are you actually trying to appear in front of very specific people? So, after you define the hours and what you do, make sure to optimize everything that you choose to do using that optimization filter. Write it down somewhere. So, whenever you think of an idea, oh, I think it's a good idea to reach out to I don't know this event, but, like I don't know, speaking in front of startups but are those people the people that you really actually want to work with? And so, if not, maybe it's not the idea that you want to work on, so search for a better idea.

Speaker 1 15:52

And then, number three what is your system for feedback? How A will you measure the progress? How will you measure the work and how will you know when you're getting progress or you should change your strategies? When are you going to check in with yourself? What is the frequency? How, again, are you going to define your success or you falling short so you can adjust your actions to get better results? Otherwise, you're going to be following insanity principle, which Einstein said insanity, doing the same thing, expecting different results.

Speaker 1 16:26

So, if you're not getting the result that you want, you want to check in with yourself and you want to define that in advance. Like, how long am I going to try a certain idea before I decide that it's not working and I should switch to something else, because sometimes we need to persevere. It's like one of my clients you reached out to five people. You expect results. Well, maybe it's not what you did. It's how much of it you did, maybe it's just not enough. Not enough yet, right? So what is your feedback system?

Speaker 1 16:58

And this is this three-step system that you want to use for any outcome if you're serious about reaching it. So number one again, after you define the outcome, that also will help you with the step. Number two. So, after you define the outcome like when I'm going to do the thing, the reps that most likely will lead me toward this outcome, when I'm going to do them and what exactly I'm going to do that, and then put it on your calendar. And you need to be very clear about how much of that effort you're putting in, so objectively, not by hoping for luck, you can expect the result that you want.

Feedback Systems and Final Thoughts

Speaker 1 17:34

Then, number two what is my optimization filter to use to sift through all the possible ideas and actions I can be taking? Or somebody will tell you oh, I think this is a good idea, you got to check in with this optimization filter. Is it really a good idea. Or this person thinks that I want to just speak and that's why they say, well, just reach out to this organization or that. And you check in with your filter and you're like, no, but my audience is not there. So I'm going to pass on this idea and I'm going to go to something else. Right?

Speaker 1 18:11

So be very clear about your optimization filter, otherwise you might end up doing again a bunch of stuff that doesn't matter. It doesn't really bring you to the goal you want. It's like people trying to get lean and strong. They're like I'm just going to go vegan and I just know that they don't eat animal products and I do not know anything else about that. And then people get frustrated because all their energy is gone and they can't lift the weight and they're getting no closer to being that strong athlete they imagined, no closer than it was at the beginning, because the system wasn't good enough and the optimization filter shouldn't be not eating animals for whichever reason, unless you ethically want to do that. But the reason should be like I research or I ask advice and this is the best strategy, objectively right. So what's your optimization filter? Number three what's your feedback system? How do you know when you're falling short or when it's time to change strategy or you're winning, and you need to double down your efforts here. So what's your feedback system? Repeat, rinse, repeat and you're going to get to the outcome you want.

Speaker 1 19:17

By the way, guys, before I conclude this episode, please do rate, review this podcast on iTunes, on Spotify, on Podcast Addict, on Stitcher, wherever you find your podcasts. That means a ton. We want to reach more people. We together want to grow collectively faster and better so together we can create the most amazing world and live the most fulfilling life. So please do read, review. That means a ton. We don't run any ads here Probably never going to do that. So we just want to deliver value, share and grow together. So help me do that, guys.

Speaker 1 19:55

But to sum up our episode, don't get mad at goals if, objectively, you are not putting in the reps. Ask yourself more often isn't reasonable to expect without luck? Is it reasonable to expect the result that I want with the amount of work and consistency that I've put in? Is it reasonable? Or I'm trying to get to Olympics just doing hard stuff, even though it's not matched with what is expected at the Olympics, right? So is it reasonable.

Speaker 1 20:26

And number two, three-step system to focusing on the work, on the reps that lead you to your outcome sooner than later. So, step number one when and what you're going to do, exactly what's your system for execution, for putting in the reps. Number two what's your optimization filter? Exactly what it is you're trying to achieve, why it's important, like what's the goal of the goal, so you could choose your strategies, your tactics wisely and effectively. And number three what's your feedback system? How will you know when you're winning, when you're falling short, when to adjust, when to persevere, when to double down? How will you know what's your system? Feedback and that's it, guys.

Speaker 1 21:12

Goals are byproducts of reps. Repetitions in, goals out. There is a better way to put those reps in, and that is today's podcast was your manual, your recipe for getting the outcomes you want, by focusing on what actually brings the outcomes the work, the reps. Hope this was useful. Please do share it with at least one other person that you want to grow to so badly. Help them out, share this podcast and till next time. I appreciate, guys, your attention, your listening, your peace of mind. Till next time, keep growing and I'll talk to you very soon.