In the personal development world, we hear brilliant quotes like “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey” and “success is attracted by the person you become.” Yet year after year, most business owners feel a failure in the “journey” phase. They place the destination (goal) on a pedestal that will somehow save them from the pain or boredom of the process. When the achievements are met, the excitement is short-lived.

This article is for you if the “love the process” notion has you asking “HOW!?” How do you actually enjoy the process? How do you get excited about taking routine, consistent action? This 5 step process will focus on being the version of you that has already achieved your 2022 vision. Since success is attracted by who you become, then it is absolutely vital that you decide right now who you will be. If you don’t, the world will decide for you.

Step 1 – VISION CAST.

Write out your list of goals for 2022. Take a few minutes to get very still. Breathe deeply and relax any tension in your body. Get VERY CLEAR on what you desire to accomplish this year. And if you already have your list, take a moment to reevaluate it.

Scrutinize it through the lens of YOUR unapologetic desires. It doesn’t need to make sense to others. Ask yourself “does this goal light me the hell up?” Or is it something I believe I “should” want or something that my industry has decided I “need” to accomplish in order to feel good enough for success? Only goals that excite YOU or are a true legal requirement in your industry make the list. This is the time to drop the people pleasing and the unwritten rules you don’t enjoy living by. This is the time to stand apart in an industry where everyone blends in.

Step 2 – CONNECT TO YOUR FUTURE SELF.

Close your eyes. Take deep breaths. Connect to the version of you who has already achieved these goals. As this version of you, how do you DESIRE to feel as you cross the finish line of these goals? Choose one word to describe the intention you will infuse into your daily life as you embark on loving the journey of completing these goals. Maybe it’s focus, passion, or trust.

This word will define your intention in the micro moments of your journey. It is not the feeling you allow yourself to feel after you achieve your goal. For example, if your word is trust – you don’t decide your choices are worth trusting AFTER you break through to 7 figures in revenue. You choosing to trust yourself every step of the journey is exactly HOW you meet that juicy revenue goal.

Step 3 – DECIDE WHAT IT’S WORTH TO YOU.

Prepare yourself by knowing that you will be met with resistance as you embody the version of you that has achieved your goals. A life or business without problems doesn’t exist. You really don’t hate problems as much as you think you do. You only hate them when you feel helpless to find a solution. Think of a big problem you solved and how amazing you felt afterwards. When you trust yourself to handle conflict, tension, and resistance, you will handle it faster and with more ease.

By now, you know yourself pretty well. List all the ways you typically self-sabotage and the problems you continue to meet on repeat. Maybe you hustle to complete burnout and need a month to recover. Maybe you get so overwhelmed with all you have to do that you freeze and do nothing. Hellllllo, Netflix binges. Maybe you run from confrontation with your team members.

WHAT are you willing to do in these moments? WHO are you willing to be? HOW will you beat the old patterns, self-sabotage, and subconscious programming that wants to keep you the same way you’ve always been? Decide now, before these moments arise. Commiting to see the obstacles through before they arrive is not being negative. It builds self-trust and shifts your self-image. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between imagination and reality, so you will begin to see yourself as an overcomer of adversity.

Visualization exercises that are all fairy dust and unicorns are not realistic. Visualize your ability to handle the ups AND the downs simultaneously. This is the duality of life and to master your emotions in business will make you unstoppable.

I did it before writing this article, because procrastination was a pattern that didn’t serve me or my business. So, I pictured myself putting down my phone, turning off the TV. I saw myself dancing to Taylor Shift so I got into a confident AF vibe, and then sitting my ass in the chair and not moving until the article was completed. Then, I did exactly that.

Step 4 – DECIDE WHAT IT’S NOT WORTH TO YOU.

What are you NOT willing to do? And who are you NOT willing to be to meet your goals? Deciding what you will NOT do on the way to your goal is just as important as committing to what you WILL do. Maybe you refuse to complain and play the victim to your circumstances. Maybe you won’t break the integrity of your word to clients, team members, or family. Decide now what you are not willing to give up in order to succeed.

I learned this lesson when I was a CPA. I achieved the things I set out to, but at what cost? My mental and physical health deteriorated because I couldn’t say “no” to a project and worked insane hours. My personal relationships declined. My morning routine of exercise and journaling that made me feel amazing went out the window. The people pleasing tendencies ran deep. No business goal I have now will be met the way I did it back then.

Step 5 – CONSTANT CELEBRATION.

You are going to celebrate in gratitude regularly to anchor in your new identity. You don’t wait to praise yourself after you hit the goal. You will celebrate the hell out of who you are becoming, EVEN in the moments of adversity. You are going to dance to your favorite song when you have a hard conversation that the old you would’ve bypassed in fear. You are going to take a bubble bath or buy yourself a coffee when you honor your word, instead of flaking out. OR when you say “no” to the thing you didn’t want to do because you knew if you said “yes,” you had to honor your word this time.

Celebrating the micro-moments you show up as the self-leader you are proud to be, no matter the outcome, is exactly HOW you love the process. This will infuse the energy with which you want to cross the finish line into your journey (your intention from step 2). Celebrations can be a lavish dinner or a 1 minute brag session with your spouse. All that matters is that YOU acknowledge you for how you showed up.

The journey is about who you become. If you are willing to reject parts of your true self to achieve success, you will not feel proud and excited for long after the success arrives. HOW you build and scale a business will teach your brain what is needed to maintain that level of business. This is how you wire in sustainable growth and eventually collapse time around your results.

When you choose to lead yourself fully, you fall in love with the process of growing. Every human on this Earth is hard-wired to love growth. We start to die in mind, body, and spirit when we feel stagnant. Every moment of adversity and discomfort molds you into the person that achieves their goals in less time with more ease. Don’t try to bypass your biggest opportunities for growth by avoiding adversity.

Those micro-moments of growth add up to quantum leaps. They create deep self-trust within you as a leader that will always honor yourself and those you love on your way to success. When you truly believe you’re going to succeed at your goals, all that’s left is to decide who you want to be in the time and space between then and now.