We all have things that we want to achieve in our lives — getting into better shape, building a successful business, raising a wonderful family, writing a best-selling book, winning a championship, and so on.
We all have things that we want to achieve in our lives — getting into better shape, building a successful business, raising a wonderful family, writing a best-selling book, winning a championship, and so on.
And for most of us, the path to those things starts by setting a specific and actionable goal. At least, this is how I approached my life until recently. I would set goals for classes I took, for weights that I wanted to lift in the gym, and for clients I wanted in my business.
What I’m starting to realize, however, is that when it comes to actually getting things done and making progress in the areas that are important to you, there is a much better way to do things.
Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference
And for most of us, the path to those things starts by setting a specific and actionable goal. At least, this is how I approached my life until recently. I would set goals for classes I took, for weights that I wanted to lift in the gym, and for clients I wanted in my business.
What I’m starting to realize, however, is that when it comes to actually getting things done and making progress in the areas that are important to you, there is a much better way to do things.
Goals reduce your happiness at the current time
If you have a goal, you are telling yourself that in the future, you are going to be a certain way, or in the future, you’re going to have something you’ve always wanted. But this is in the future. Goals always look towards the future and ‘what if’s’ rather than what is happening in the present. These goals are you constantly telling yourself that you’re not good enough at that time, and is a huge burden on a lot of people. So instead of focusing on your goals and the future, focus on your current actions and the system you have in place each day or week to achieve the future goal. Each step of the way is a milestone to be proud of.Goals are at odds with long-term progress
You may think that having a goal will keep you motivated during the long-term. However, this is often not the case. If you have been training for a marathon or writing a set amount of words each day to finish your book to reach the end goal, you will probably stop once you’ve completed it and you will go back to square one. However, systems keep you on the straight and narrow for the long-term, because as soon as you finish, you carry on with your system and you keep running.Goals don’t predict the future
As much as we often wish we could, we cannot predict the future. When we set ourselves goals, we try to predict what our future will be like when we achieve it. Unfortunately, there is no way to do this, and we may be setting ourselves up for disaster. If you keep up with your systems, you are able to adapt yourself each step of the way to remove any predictions that may upset or push your back from your end result.Fall In Love With Systems
None of this is to say that goals are useless. However, I've found that goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress.Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference
