04/14/2026
Last evening in my health coaching program, we talked about the importance of setting goals that focus on our behaviors, not on the desired outcome.
Why is this? Quite simply, we control our behaviors, not the outcomes. By focusing on behaviors that support the outcome we are hoping for, we increase our odds of directionally making progress toward the outcome.
Here is an example. A client wants to get more sleep so that they have more energy during their day.
Behavior focused goal: "I will go to bed by 10 PM Sunday - Thursday nights this week."
vs. Outcome focused goal: "I want to get 8 hours of sleep."
By focusing on the behavior of committing to a specific bedtime, this client is taking action that is very likely to result in getting more sleep.
Outcome based goals are more like wishes without a path to get there.
