In April of 2023 I set a fitness goal to hit 7 muscle ups by the end of the year.

I was currently stuck at 4.

— If you don't know what a muscle up is, it’s when you do an explosive pullup high enough to where you can lean over the bar and do a dip at the top.

You ultimately end up at the top of the bar instead of hanging at the bottom. —

Eager to hit my goal, day after day (except leg days) I would prioritize practicing them to start my workout while I was still fresh.

My progression increased much faster than before.

In less than 2 weeks I was flirting with my 5th one.

I was almost there but couldn’t quite get my elbows high enough over the bar.

Before I knew it, in just under 1 month I hit my 5th.

I was SO excited.

I started celebrating, running around yelling, fist pumping, and belly bumping with my workout partner Nate.

For the rest of the workout, I rode this high.

I felt invincible.

When I got home that night, I convinced myself I did a great job but it was time to focus on getting that next one because the goal was 7 not 5.

I had already come down from the high of the 5th and was focused on the 7th.

So, naturally I kept on training with my goal top of mind.

Within the next month I hit my 6th.

Except this time my celebration was smaller and shorter lived.

This time I didn’t scream.

I didn’t chest bump Nate.

I did do a small fist pump though…

But then shifted my focus back on the 7th.

The excitement from hitting the 6th (which I had never done before) didn’t even last until the end of the workout.

Later that night I sat in my room and thought about why this was.

•Was it because it wasn’t 7?

•Was it because I thought I didn’t deserve it?

•Or maybe because I felt I could’ve got it sooner?

Eventually I came to realize, it was Arrival Fallacy.

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The Arrival Fallacy 

A term introduced by psychology expert Tal Ben-Shahar in his book Happier.

It’s when you believe reaching a goal is what will make you truly happy.

Then, when you do reach it, you feel unfulfilled.

You realize the happiness from reaching it is fleeting and now there are more challenges & obstacles to overcome.

This is a dangerous game to play.

It leads to unhappiness more often than happiness.

Now I’m not saying set no goals here.

Goals are crucial for development in your:

• Health

• Business

• Personal Life

But if your happiness is dependent on outcomes & goals only, you’ll end up like a dog chasing its tail.

So how do you avoid it?

You bring your focus to the journey.

This brings presence into the moments you work towards a goal.

With this comes:

•Joy

•Peace

•Intention

I’ve laid out 5 steps I’ve personally used to solve this problem for my business, fitness, and personal life.

Let’s jump into it.

5 Steps to Avoid Arrival Fallacy

1. Breathe into your belly

Do this before each session that you train for a goal:

•Count 10 deep breathes into your belly

•Bring awareness to your body

•Feel your feet on the ground

Now you will be grounded into the moment, into your own presence.

2. Remember your “Why”

Get deeper than the lost city of Atlantis here.

Ask the why’s behind the why’s.

This brings your attention away from the goal itself and onto its purpose.

3. Focus on your favorite part

Do this when you perform the action.

It will cause you to:

•Smile

•Find joy

•Have a positive attitude

Falling in love with the process is non-negotiable.

4. Be mindful

This will reinforce you into the present moment.

Bring awareness to your:

•Mood

•Thoughts

•Emotions

Happiness can’t exist outside of the now (check out The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle)

5. Reflect after

Take 1-2 minutes when you finish to summarize how it went.

In your mind go over:

•What went well

•The most fun part

•What you can do better next time

This will make you look forward to the next session.

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Do this consistently.

You won’t help but fall in love with the journey of reaching a goal.

The goal will become a byproduct of you doing the actions day in and day out instead of the other way around.

Living with presence is the only way to find true happiness.

—

I appreciate you so much for being here.

Week after week we’re slowly chipping down the walls preventing us from living our ideal life.

It most often starts in our mind.

—

I’m curious:

Have you used my Utopian Goal Setting System yet?

It’s free for all my newsletter subscribers & you got early access.

Let me know what you like, don’t like, etc.

All feedback is welcome.

It’s actually encouraged.

If you missed it last week you can get it here:

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Ps. Have you gotten my free meditation guide?

It’s an in-depth breakdown of:

•The benefits

•5 proven techniques

•A 10 minute guided meditation narrated by me.

It’s all yours here:

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PPS.

I also put together a step by step walk through on how I made my first $100 writing online.

It includes sales call tips and a framework for cold pitching.

It’s an actionable video walk through on how you can do it too.

Snag it free here: