How Goal Fusion Can Make the Mundane Exciting
I’m from Seattle and follow the Seahawks. As a result, I am also a big fan of Pete Carroll and his (sometimes unorthodox) approach to management. I am especially fond of his tendency to bring in a variety of guest speakers to talk to his team.
This season, Angela Duckworth, professor, scientist, and author of the book Grit, came to speak to the players during training camp. One of the things she talked about was goal fusion, the idea that a goal is integrated into one's self-concept.
When they practice goal fusion, high-performance athletes do not focus on the hard or mundane activities they do every day.
When they train, they don’t say, “I’m doing drills!” They say, “I’m winning the Super Bowl!”
In other words, they fuse the boring stuff together to help them focus on a high-level goal.
As soon as I heard about this concept, I knew I had to put it into practice in my daily life.
Most of the time, I love my job. I enjoy the vast majority of the tasks I have to do each and every day. However, there are some activities I don’t care for. These duties can feel tedious and boring.
When I started practicing goal fusion, I found that I was able to connect those unenjoyable tasks to my ultimate goal. That gave me energy and motivated me to work through them.
Now, when I have a tedious activity to do, I don’t focus on how much I’d rather be doing something else. Instead, I focus on my overall vision. I think about things like:
How I want to show up for my clients
What difference I want to make in the world
What people I want to work with
If you ask me what I’m doing today, I’ll tell you, “I’m winning the Emily Bowl!”
So, what are you doing today? How can you fuse your daily activities with your overall goal?
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About The Author
Emily Sander is an ICF-certified leadership coach with more than 15 years of experience in the business world and the author of Hacking Executive Leadership. She’s been featured in several print publications, online articles, and podcasts, including CEO Today Magazine, Leading to Fulfillment, and Leadership Powered by Common Sense.
Emily has a passion for helping business leaders reach their full potential. Go here to read her story from seasoned executive to knowledgeable coach. If you want to send Emily a quick message, then visit her contact page here.