Here’s a huge red flag I’ve noticed in my process toward any goal:
Saying I need to be more disciplined.
Chasing discipline feels like a grind and wishes for better decisions to just magically happen.
Here’s a recent example from me falling into this trap:
I wanted to clean up my diet back in December.
I was losing all the mini mental battles of…
a glass of wine here
a Christmas cookie there
a second helping of dinner because why not?
I’d wake up with great intentions and eat clean in the morning.
But then in the afternoon and evening, I’d be making the same poor decisions I wanted to fix.
My mind was wondering what the hell is going on? as my legs lifted me from the couch to go get another scoop of ice cream from the freezer…
I needed a reframe.
The Power of Self-Testing
I thought back to the times I was most dialed on my diet - and living with discipline on autopilot.
A specific mindset shift/reframe stood out:
Treating goals as experiments
Here’s how I see it…
Start with an outcome you want (like eating cleaner and losing weight)
Pick something you can learn or test within that goal
I chose to test a Fruit Till Noon diet and ordered a continuous glucose monitor to track how different food and food timing impacts my blood sugar (and more).
Now remember…
The real goal is to lose 5–7 pounds and make better decisions around food
And the problem was telling myself not to snack or eat junk food was not working
So instead of grinding it out, I turned it into an experiment.
And there’s some research to back this up.
Cognitive Reframing
A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked into a technique called cognitive reframing.1
This helps boost self-control without having to rely on sheer willpower.
Brain scans from the study showed that this approach changed how the brain responds in reward areas, while also calming down the parts of the brain tied to willpower struggles.
My takeaway?
Reframing your mindset to focus on a different process (that can achieve the same desired outcome) can make staying disciplined easier than just forcing yourself to try harder.
My Results
My mind was unlocked.
And it was all because of one specific shift…
My goals became clearer.
As soon as created the experiment and set the constraints:
eat fruit till noon
protein and fat heavy meals in the pm
Each decision around food became about trying something new, observing what happened in my energy levels/weight/body comp/blood sugar - and learning from it.
It was no longer a war of willpower.
(I haven’t been perfect. But slip ups are more isolated, I learn more from them and find it easier to get back on the horse).
Experiment Beyond Fitness
Turning goals into experiments can be applied to any area of life.
Here’s a quick example from this week:
I was talking to an athlete who’s building out his own online coaching business.
But he’s got one major problem…
He’s afraid of judgement and hesitating on sharing what he’s building with the world.
It’s gonna be hard to build something online if this remains the case!
And so we needed a reframe.
Instead of seeing it as…
I’m going to be made fun of if I promote myself online
I suggested we reframe it to be an experiment…
Will sharing my own story and progress get more engagement?
Or will I get more engagement speaking directly about who I want to help?
Do you see how turning a goal into an experiment will help him enter action with boldness and get him closer to his dream reality?
