3. Commiting to the Outcome
So often we commit to the actions for our goals, but not to the end result.
The key is to commit to the outcome.
In this episode, I’m sharing examples of how I commit to the outcome, and how you can too.
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Hey, it's Sarah Arnold-Hall, and you're listening to How to Take Action.
Today, I wanna talk about committing to the outcome of your goal, because so often we think about setting a goal and we commit to trying to fulfill the actions to achieve the goal. We commit to hoping that it's gonna happen, instead of committing to making it happen.
And an example that I always like to use is imagine if you were, like, if you've got kids, I don't have kids, so you're gonna have to imagine if you don't have kids. But like if you had to pick your kid up from school, you would be committed to the end result of them coming home. You're not committing to like getting in the car and like putting your shoes on and like hopefully they arrive home at some point, like you're committed to the result of getting them home.
There is no scenario where that kid stays at school overnight. You will even if you break your leg, right? Even if you absolutely hurt yourself or you for some reason, something goes completely wrong, like you will find a way to get them home from school. You will get another trusted adult to pick them up.
The goal itself isn't negotiable. It's completely non-negotiable, and so that's the way that I wanna offer that you can start thinking about all of your goals, by committing to the outcome rather than committing to trying.
As an example, in July, 2020, I had the goal to hit 600 subscribers on my YouTube channel. And I think at the time I had done, I about, I had about 452, I think at the beginning on July 1st, and I wanted to get to 600 and it had taken me like several years to build up that 452 people. And so I was like, okay, this is a big goal to try to get to 600. But I was like, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna commit to the outcome.
And so, I made a list of all the things that I would be willing to do to achieve it. This list wasn't everything that I had to do to achieve my goal. This was just a list of things that I could do if it came down to it, that would make sure that I did achieve the goal, like, Things that I was willing to do to commit to the outcome, to guarantee that I would definitely hit 600.
So, on the list included messaging every single person that I knew on Facebook and individually asking them all to please subscribe to my YouTube channel, or to make a YouTube account and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
It included going around my neighborhood and knocking on doors and asking. In person, will you subscribe? And like that one terrified me. I remember thinking like I really didn't wanna have to do it.
And then I remember the one that I remember thinking like, oh, there's no way I'm gonna have to do this. Which was go to the mall and just ask strangers, just like whoever was around in the mall and just ask them. And you know what, I think it was the 30th, the 31st of December, I still had 13 subscribers. Cause I had managed to get all the way up till I guess 587 subscribers. But I had still 13 more subscribers to get to 600. So I was. I'm gonna have to do one of these things, like extra things on my list that I hadn't already done.
I'd already messaged so many people on Facebook asking them to subscribe. I decided I was gonna have to go to the mall. And I did. I went down to the mall and I asked people, complete strangers. "Hi. So I'm, my name's Sarah. I, yeah, you, sorry. Yeah, no, you, yeah. Hi. Sorry to interrupt. Um, I actually, um, am just trying to get to 600 subscribers on YouTube. I'm doing this challenge to try and see if I can get to it by the end of the month, and I just have 13 more people. I was just wondering, like, would you be willing to subscribe to my YouTube channel? Yeah, I do. I do videos on motivation and mindset. Oh, thank you so much. That'd be amazing."
And then I would wait.
I would sit there and I would wait or stand there and I would type it in sometimes into their phone, which one it was. I would wait until they actually clicked subscribe. Everybody was so gracious and lovely. I don't think any of them unsubscribed at all, which was so sweet.
And I got to my 600. I asked so many people.
It was so embarrassing. I got, actually, it was so funny because one of the people that I asked, she was like, wait, are you Helena's sister? And I was like, yeah. Because I have a little sister called Helena, and she goes, oh, I'm already subscribed. She already sent it round to everybody in our school . So embarrassed, because I had asked, already asked my little sister if she would send it to every person in her school. And basically, apparently she did. And these people had been, some of this woman had been one of the subscribers, this girl. And so I was like, what's the coincidence? She was the first person that I asked as well. It was so bizarre. She was working in a cafe and they were just closing up and I was like, Hey. And she's like, I'm already subscribed to you. And I'm like, this is crazy.
Clearly I had been putting in a lot of effort to get these subscribers. And that's what I did. I got to these subscribers, I got to 600 subscribers, and then I actually, because I was videoing myself, and I think you can find the video of me doing this on my highlight reel on Instagram, because I was doing that and I shared it on Instagram, I then got a bunch more from committing to the outcome of making the subscribers happen and not committing to trying. And I know this because so many other times I had committed to trying and hadn't achieved it at all.
So one of my friends Kat said recently, you don't just wanna be willing to do whatever it takes. You wanna be eager to do whatever it takes. You wanna be so committed that you're eager to do whatever it takes to achieve this goal.
And think about it like with your kid, if you're picking your kid up from school, you're not just gonna be like willing to do whatever it takes. You're gonna be eager to do whatever it takes. You want to get that kid home, like you do not want them staying at school overnight.
And, I wanna think, I think about it like this, if you could have it that much commitment to a kid for an entire, for their entire childhood, for 18 years, for their lifetime, you can create that kind of commitment for one goal for like a month or a year, or however long you're going after your goal for you can totally create that kind of commitment. You just have to get yourself into the belief that you are committed to the outcome and not committed to just trying, and it will shift the way that you go after your goals forever.
So my challenge to you is to come up with a list. All the things that you would be willing and eager to do to go, to commit to your goal, to make sure that your goal happens.
And I don't want you to not hit the goal until you've done absolutely every single one of those things on the list. And then some. If you then don't hit your goal, then we can talk about, then we can figure out, okay, what happened? What went wrong, right. Something has clearly gone terribly wrong.
But if you have really committed to the outcome of making it happen, I don't think you're ever gonna see that situation.
I have never had a goal that I committed to the final outcome so hard that I was willing to do anything it took and eager to do anything it took, and didn't hit it. I can think of times where I've gone after goals and thought that I was in that mentality, but then when it came down to it on the last day or so, I'd be like, oh yeah, no, I, I don't know.
Like maybe it's just not meant to be. Right. And then you like self sabotage your way out of your goal. You do not wanna be in that energy you wanna commit right up until the very last moment.
I always like to think like, if you've ever seen any romcom movie, ever, Nobody ever achieves anything up until the last minute anyway, it's like the final moment, and sometimes even right after the final moment, maybe it'll be like the 1st of August, right? That I would hit it. It doesn't matter, right? Like if you achieve your goal, you achieve your goal. You wanna commit to the outcome and be eager and willing to do anything. So make your list of things and then commit to actually doing them.
That is my challenge to you.
All right, that is today's episode. I look forward to talking to you in the next one.
Hey, if you enjoyed listening to this podcast, you're gonna love being coached by me. We're gonna solve your specific action taking struggles, so you can hit any goal you set. Just go to saraharnoldhall.com to sign up.
