Do you have goals in your life? Do you want to achieve something specific, such as losing weight, starting a business, or learning a new skill? If so, you are not alone. Most people have goals that they want to pursue and accomplish. Goals can be motivating, inspiring, and rewarding.
But goals are not enough. In fact, goals can sometimes be counterproductive, frustrating, and stressful. Goals can make you focus too much on the outcome and not enough on the process. Goals can make you feel like a failure if you don’t reach them or like a loser if you do. Goals can make you lose sight of the bigger picture and the purpose behind your actions.
That’s why you need systems. Systems are the habits, routines, and strategies that you use to achieve your goals. Systems are the actions that you take every day to move closer to your desired outcome. Systems are the processes that you follow to improve yourself and your situation. Systems are the means to the end.
Systems are better than goals for several reasons. Systems can help you:
- Focus on what you can control: You can’t always control the outcome of your actions, but you can control the actions themselves. For example, you can’t control how much weight you lose in a week, but you can control how much you eat and exercise every day. By focusing on your system, you can avoid getting discouraged by factors that are outside of your control.
- Enjoy the journey: You can’t always predict when or how you will achieve your goal, but you can enjoy the process of working towards it. For example, you can’t know when or how you will start a successful business, but you can enjoy learning new skills and creating value every day. By focusing on your system, you can avoid getting bored or impatient by the uncertainty of the outcome.
- Make consistent progress: You can’t always measure the impact of your actions on your goal, but you can measure the consistency of your actions. For example, you can’t always see the results of your learning on your skill level, but you can see how many hours or pages or lessons you have completed every day. By focusing on your system, you can avoid getting distracted or complacent by the variability of the results.
- Achieve more than you expected: You can’t always set realistic or optimal goals for yourself, but you can set realistic and optimal systems for yourself. For example, you can’t always know how much weight or money or knowledge you can gain in a year, but you can know how much effort or investment or study you can put in every day. By focusing on your system, you can avoid limiting yourself or missing opportunities by the arbitrariness of your goal.
So how do you create a system for yourself? Here are some steps that you can follow:
1) Identify your goal: The first step is to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve in your life. What is your ultimate vision for yourself? What are your long-term and short-term goals? How do they align with your values and passions? Write them down and make them SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound).
2) Break down your goal into tasks and habits: The next step is to break down your big goal into smaller and more manageable tasks and habits. For example, if your goal is to write a book, some of the tasks could be: researching the topic, outlining the chapters, writing the first draft, editing the draft, etc. Some of the habits could be: writing for an hour every day, reading books on writing skills every week, etc.
3) Choose a system that works for you: The third step is to choose a system that works for you and your goal. A system is a set of rules or principles that guide your actions and decisions. A system should be simple, effective, and adaptable. Some examples of systems are:
- The 80/20 rule: This rule states that 80% of the results come from 20% of the efforts. You can use this rule to identify and focus on the most important tasks or habits that contribute to your goal.
- The Pomodoro technique: This technique involves working in short bursts of 25 minutes followed by 5-minute breaks. You can use this technique to improve your focus, productivity, and creativity.
- The Kaizen method: This method involves making small and continuous improvements every day. You can use this method to overcome your fears, resistance, and inertia.
4) Track and review your system: The final step is to track and review
your system regularly. Tracking means recording your actions and outcomes in a journal, spreadsheet, or app. Reviewing means analyzing your data and feedback to see what works and what doesn’t work for
you and your goal.You should track and review your system daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.
The Benefits
What are the benefits of using a system instead of a goal?
Well,here are some of them:
- You will be more motivated: A system will help
you stay motivated by giving you a clear direction, consistent feedback, and a sense of accomplishment. - You will be more productive: A system will help you be more productive by reducing your procrastination, distraction, and confusion.
- You will be more flexible: A system will help you be more flexible by allowing you to adapt to changing circumstances, opportunities, and challenges.
- You will be more successful: A system will help you be more successful by increasing your chances of achieving your goal or even surpassing it.
Conclusion
Goals are good, but systems are better. Goals are the destination, but systems are the journey. Goals are the result, but systems are the cause.
If you want to achieve anything in life, don’t just set a goal for yourself. Create a system for yourself. And then follow it every day. 🚀
