How visualizing the process makes you unstoppable.
The deeper we move into the Attention Age, the less people think for themselves. It is to the advantage of every company and government to cause their people to think less and follow more. Media of all kinds (news media, social media, TV, radio, movies, podcasts, music) are created to make you hear and act with no individual thinking involved.
Tech giants make money in direct proportion to how much attention they command. They want you to unthinkingly continue to use their products.
When people don’t think, they simply react. They do what they are told. They go about their day in a reactionary state. Reactivity breeds reactivity.
Allow me to propose an alternative.
Take complete ownership of your time and attention.
To do this, you need to know where you are going and how you are going to get there.
The Process
There are myriad resources that show you how to define a goal. Often, we know what we want to achieve, and the goal-making process is superfluous.
I was in 8th grade when I decided I wanted to be a fighter pilot when I grew up. That was the goal. It was discrete (specific), had a time associated with it (ASAP), and was measurable. All that was left was making it happen.
As it turns out, it is a long, tough road to becoming a fighter pilot. The list of requirements is long, and each prerequisite has its list of prerequisites.
So how did I make it happen? I visualized the process.
I repeatedly asked the question, when do I need to do to become a fighter pilot, and what do I need to do right now?
Process to become a fighter pilot:
- Get good grades in high school so you get accepted to a good college and commissioning program
- Get good grades in college, and do well the commissioning program to be selected for Undergraduate Pilot Training
- Work and study hard in Pilot Training so you rank at the top of your class and are competitive for a fighter jet assignment
- Once selected for a fighter, work and study hard in the fighter basic course so you can graduate and be a fully qualified fighter pilot
That is how to become a fighter pilot in four simple steps. Defining those steps is the key.
Now I was able, as a freshman in high school, to look at that list and know exactly what I needed to do. I needed to get good grades in high school and find a good university and commissioning program.
The visualization process then repeats.
Process to get good grades in high school:
- Learn to like math
- Study hard
- Join extracurriculars to build leadership skills but not at the expense of grades
- Research universities and commissioning programs such as the service academies and ROTC
The visualization process continues until you know exactly what needs to be done right now. The goal—Become a Fighter Pilot—never wavers, and remains the beacon of motivation.
Let’s take a look at how I visualize the process before a flying mission.
How I visualize the process before a mission
Whether I am deployed and given a mission to protect an asset or to destroy a building, or I’m leading a training mission at home station, the process for execution is the same.
- Define success. What is the target?
- Determine the threats. What is trying to prevent me from being successful?
- Request for forces. What resources do I have and is that adequate?
- Draw up a game plan. What needs to happen to accomplish the mission?
- Brief my team. What does my team need to know to be successful?
- Execute the mission.
- Debrief the mission afterwards. What happened? What went right? What went wrong? Why?
The beauty of this process is that it works for anything, not just a flying mission. When I am given a project at work to accomplish, I go through this process.
The more attention you put in up front, the more likely you are to succeed.
Einstein is quoted as saying that if he were given one hour to save the world, he would take 55 minutes to define the problem and spend 5 minutes finding the solution.
Visualize the process everyday
No matter your occupation or role, you will benefit from implementing this superpower in your life. Here is a snapshot of how I visualize the process every day.
First, either on Friday before leaving work, or Sunday evening before going to bed, I sit down and define my big-picture goals of my week. “What does a successful week look like?” Then, I visualize the process of my week. “What do I need to do to accomplish this week’s goals?” Once I have defined those step, I schedule them.
Typically, I don’t schedule every block of time across the entire week. Inevitably, something comes up that is more pressing. Having white-space scheduled helps reduce the likelihood of not accomplishing your week’s goals by the time Friday afternoon rolls around.
Then, once I have my big-picture processes set out on the calendar, I will plan the next day in more detail. So, on either Friday or Sunday, I block out Monday’s schedule. For the next day’s scheduling, I still plan for white space, but that is typically only an hour toward the end of the day.
When Monday arrives, I already have my high-impact processes and projects schedule. Now it is a matter of execution.
Here is a quick run-down of execution tools I use:
- Ruthlessly reduce distractions – close email and put your phone in another room
- Establish a motivator – I set a timer for 15 mins or 30 mins. While the timer is running, I can only work on the project at hand. Once the timer expires, I can either take a break, address something quickly, or set another timer and get back to work
- Reset and re-enter the schedule – when the schedule begins to break down (either you accomplish processes ahead or schedule or they run long) realistically reset the schedule for the remainder of the day, and get back into execution
Finally, at the end of the day, repeat the process. Evaluate what you got done today and what is left to be done. Then establish tomorrow’s schedule keeping your big-picture weekly goal in mind.
Why this is so powerful
Most people, myself included, default to living and working in a reactionary state. Those who take the time to visualize the process consistently out-perform their peers. The simple act of defining what accomplishing the goal looks like, exponentially increases likelihood of accomplishing the goal.
Pay attention to what matters, when it matters.
If you need help visualizing the process, find someone to aid you and hold you accountable. There are plenty of coaches who do this.
When coaching my clients, we go through the above process—define the goal, visualize the process to complete the goal, then schedule it and execute it.
If you are interested in adopting this superpower, send me an email or schedule a phone call with me to see how we can make that happen.
