Less Manifesting, More Measuring

Are you tracking your progress, your actions, both, or neither?

So you gave your goals a whiff and they’re fresh. (If you have no idea what I'm talking about and why you'd ever be "sniffing" your goals, catch yourself up here. All caught up now? Good, keep reading.)

When you know what you want and why you want it, the next logical question is: How the hell do you actually make it happen?

Spoiler: it’s not just about vision boards and manifesting crystals (though if those work for you, sparkle on). It’s about tracking.

You’ve probably heard some flavor of this quote before: “What gets measured, gets managed.” It’s not just Instagram wellness fluff. It’s neuroscience. When you track something, your brain starts filtering for it. It says, “Oh, this matters? Cool. I’ll make sure you notice when you’re doing it—or not doing it.”

Most people focus on tracking their results. Two pounds down, $300 in savings, five boxes hauled to the storage unit like poof, clutter gone, life transformed, HGTV crew en route. In other words, their focus is on their progress.

But what if you aren’t making progress?

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: you can’t actually control your results. Not directly. You can influence them, sure. But control? Nope. That scale might refuse to budge even if you’ve eaten salads like it’s your job. Your bank account might still be chirping crickets despite every oat milk latte you didn’t buy. You’re not lazy. You’re not cursed. You’re just aiming at the wrong target.

Enter: lead indicators. Otherwise known as your actions. The things you DO. These are 100% within your control. You want better outcomes? Start tracking your inputs.

Lead indicators are the reps you put in at the gym, the number of client pitches you send, the hours you sleep, the times you say “no” to things that drain you. Lag indicators—the results—will catch up eventually. But first, you have to show up for the work.

And here’s where it gets even more powerful: Tracking your actions lets you troubleshoot. You get to play scientist. Let’s say you’ve been lifting three times a week and walking daily, but nothing’s shifting. But you haven’t tracked your meals. Like, at all. You might discover that what you thought was one tablespoon of peanut butter is actually three, and oops, there’s your deficit.

Or maybe you’ve been obsessing over cardio, but your body responds better to strength training. Tracking helps you stop guessing and start knowing. You might realize it’s not that you “can’t lose weight”—it’s that you’ve been focused on the wrong lever.

Now, if you’re thinking, “Ugh, this sounds like a lot of spreadsheets,” hear me out. Tracking doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be consistent. Grab a sticky note and make a little checkbox for up to three actions you want to consistently take that will help you toward your goal.

Let’s say your goal is to finally stop hitting snooze a million times in the morning. You’re done being late for work, feeling rushed, and chugging that first cup of coffee faster than your college beer-drinking best. Your list might look something like this:

1. Go to bed 30 minutes earlier.✅

2. Place my phone across the room so I have to physically get out of bed.✅

3. Do a 5-minute morning stretch or walk to wake myself up (yes, even if I’m still half-asleep). ✅

It doesn’t need to be perfect. It needs to be visible. Because the real win isn’t just doing the thing—it’s being able to look back and see the streak. It’s proof. Not just that you want to change, but that you are changing.

And here’s the thing: Sometimes you’ll realize the actions you’re taking aren’t actually getting you closer to the outcome you wanted. That’s not failure. That’s data. That’s feedback. You can use it to pivot your actions—or even (gasp) adjust your goal.

Because sometimes we set goals based on what we think we should want. But when we try everything and still feel meh, it might be time to ask: Do I still want this, or did I just want who I thought I’d be when I got it?

Tracking gives you the receipts. Return whatever's not working. Keep what is.

So here’s your next step: Pick one goal. A minimum of one and maximum of three actions that support it. And track it for two weeks. Not the outcome. Just the doing. See what happens.

You don’t need a total life overhaul. You need consistent, targeted habits. Over time, they compound. And that’s when the shifts go from subtle to seismic.

Less manifesting, more measuring. Because—spoiler alert—it works.

With Fierce Love,

Chazz

P.S.

If you’ve tracked your little heart out and still feel like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall (and it’s somehow boomeranging back and smacking you in the face), it might be time to tag in some backup. Your Middle Finger Makeover 💅 is about to drop, and it’s got your name written in glitter and grit. Part group coaching, part bullshit detox, all you stepping into your power, your clarity, and your don’t-mess-with-me energy. Stay tuned.