Outcomes Are Not Your Responsibility!

You are not responsible for outcomes. You are only responsible for the work you put in.

Let me say this again. Outcomes are not your responsibility. Work is.

Yet how much time do you spend thinking and figuring out how to produce an outcome! Or worse, how much time do you spend stressed why you did not get a specific outcome, missing the possibility of different versions of the outcome!

I know I have done both. Plenty of times.

But this new understanding completely changed my relationship with goals and creating in the world. I now don’t carry anything on my shoulders. It is only fun and exciting.

Ok let us break down the journey a little bit. You wake up one morning and you have the desire to create a business that generates a million dollars. That is a desired outcome. Then you start thinking about how that could even be possible. Or if you are worthy of making a million dollars. Or if the market is big enough. Or if you have to cheat your way towards this desire.

Do you notice what is happening? More time is spent dwelling on the outcome rather than the work that needs to be done!

But what happens once you realize that the outcome is not your responsibility? That getting to the outcome says nothing about you. You are no less of a great achiever if you don’t get to the outcome. What if it’s god’s Responsibility? What if you make a little less than a million dollars? Or much more. Or you might end up somewhere much more beautiful than a sum of money!

Lets adapt the new understanding and see what changes.

You wake up with the desire to make a million dollar business. You set it as a desired outcome. It excites you. It would be awesome if you achieve this outcome. Then you put it aside and ask yourself “what work do I have to do to make this outcome possible?”

If you keep asking yourself this question and do the daily work, then that is all you’re responsible for! Isn’t that much lighter on the heart? Much more specific and clear?

I’ll give you a real life example. One desired outcome I have is to build an email list of +1000 people. Most of my time is spent on why I don’t yet have a 1000 people, and when will I get there, and what does it say about me that I’m not there yet!

Once I realized that all I need is a form of a desired outcome and that I am not responsible beyond that, my attention went on what do I have to do to move towards this outcome.

Here is what I can be responsible for:

• create a lot of value in my weekly letter.

• Ask for feedback and improve.

• Let more people know that the weekly letter exists.

• Ask my current community to share the weekly letter with the people they care about. (Would you be kind enough to share the value you get from reading my weekly letters with people you care to support?!)

The mentioned above is the work I can do and focus on. The outcome does not occupy my mind as much any more. To be honest, I welcome any type of different outcome now!

So let me ask you, how much of your time is wasted thinking about the outcome as if its your responsibility? How much did that distract you from asking the real question, which is what type of work can you do to move towards your desired outcome?

How does it feel in your body to believe that the outcome is your responsibility?

How does it feel in your body when you realize that you are free to have any desire, and only pay attention to the daily work you can put in?

I would like to end this with a the following beautiful quote: “The difference between the amateurs and the professionals is simple: The professionals know they're winging it. The amateurs pretend they're not." - Amanda Palmer

Enjoy living.

Abdul.