“Begin with the end in mind.”
Stephen R. Covey wrote that line in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and it’s one of those ideas that quietly shows up everywhere once you notice it. In physical therapy, in strength training, in nutrition, in sports performance, in business, in relationships — the principle is universal.
But it’s especially powerful in the work we do at Whole Health Solutions and Sports Performance.
Most of the clients who walk through our doors have a goal — some clear, some vague, some deeply emotional.
“I want my back to stop hurting.”
“I want to run again.”
“I want to lose weight.”
“I want to be stronger.”
“I want my life back.”
What’s interesting is that these goals often feel overwhelming at first. The finish line seems far away, and the path to get there can feel blurry. That’s where Covey’s idea becomes more than a nice quote. It becomes a practical tool.
Starting with the end in mind means defining what “success” looks like for you. Not in theory. Not in vague terms. In real life.
And once you know that? You work backwards.
If someone says their goal is to “get strong,” that’s not actually the end point. That’s a category. It’s like saying you want to “go west” — you’ll need an actual destination if you’re ever going to arrive.
So we ask questions.
What does strong look like to you?
Is it doing five push-ups? Twenty?
Is it deadlifting your bodyweight?
Is it carrying your kids without pain?
Is it feeling confident in your body again?
The more questions we ask, the more specific the picture becomes.
The more specific the picture becomes, the more achievable it feels.
And once the end becomes clear, we reverse-engineer the steps to get there.
This is the same logic behind James Clear’s work in Atomic Habits: you don’t rise to the level of your goals — you fall to the level of your systems. Working backward from the goal forces you to build the system that supports it.
A client recovering from knee pain might say, “I want to be able to run again.”
We take that end point and work backwards:
To run again, they need single-leg strength and stability.
To build that, they need progressive loading.
Before progressive loading, they need baseline movement quality.
Before movement quality, they need pain under control.
Before pain decreases, they need an evaluation that identifies the root cause.
Each step is small. But each step is connected.
When you start from the finish line and walk backward, the fog clears.
Instead of asking, “How do I get there?” you start asking, “What is the next logical step?”
That shift changes everything.
We see this with athletes all the time.
If a baseball player wants more power at the plate, we work backward:
Power comes from force production.
Force production comes from strength.
Strength comes from tension, technique, and progression.
Those rely on mobility, recovery, and consistency.
When we isolate each link, the training becomes purposeful.
No guesswork. No random exercises.
A plan that makes sense because it’s built from the destination backward.
And when an athlete understands that chain, motivation increases.
The “why” becomes obvious.
A client focused on losing weight or improving body composition often feels stuck at the beginning. The goal feels big. The timeline feels long. And the progress can be slow.
But when we start with the end and work backward, the plan becomes actionable:
What does the desired end state look like?
What habits need to be in place for that version of them to exist?
Which habit is the easiest to start today?
How can we make it even easier?
This is habit stacking. This is making habits obvious, attractive, and achievable — all principles rooted in behavioral science.
And it always works better when we begin at the end.
Not because they’re more disciplined.
Not because they have more willpower.
But because clarity reduces friction.
When you can see the finish line, the steps feel productive instead of random.
When the steps feel productive, you build momentum.
And momentum, in our experience, is the real magic.
We’ve watched countless clients transform — physically, mentally, emotionally — by simply defining the destination and then reverse-engineering the daily actions that lead to it.
Starting with the end in mind doesn’t just make training easier.
It makes success almost inevitable.
Whether you’re dealing with an injury, trying to get strong, rebuilding your health, or training for performance, the first step isn’t the warm-up exercise or the weight you lift.
The first step is defining where you want to go.
Once you know that, we’ll help you build everything in between.
One step backward from the finish line at a time.