Forget Goals, Build Systems: A New Approach to Achievement
Forget about goals, focus on systems instead. The systems you place around your life are more important than the goals you set. I want you to see systems as the people, things, or elements and people around you which make it easy or hard to start or stop a habit. A goal is something you "wish" to achieve or be doing.
Do you want to learn a technical or non-technical skill? How many hours are you devoting to the training? Are you always on social media when you should be working, learning or studying? Do you have people that discourage or look down on you? Are you doing any practicals to test your ability to do what you have learnt?
Systems are more important than goals because goals are simply about the results we want to achieve, but systems are about the processes that lead to those results. If you do not set goals and you have the right systems, you will still be able to achieve what you want to do. I am a Manchester City supporter, and Pep Guardiola the best coach of all time, does not care about goals, he cares about having the right people in his team, attention to detail, proper rest for each player, focus on diet and proper body weight for each player, and among other atomic details. As a result, he has broken many records which are like goals for all other clubs.
Goals are best for setting direction, but systems for making progress. Don't spend so much time on goals without spending enough time on designing the system in your life.
Drawing a parallel with the Bible, "Some people have given up the habit of meeting for worship, but we must not do that. We should keep on encouraging each other, especially since you know that the day of the Lord's coming is getting closer." Hebrews 10:24-26 (CEV)
If you are having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have the wrong system for change. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
Remember, always look for opportunities to just be better by 1% each day (or consecutive days you repeat an action). The words you hear, the people you see, the things around you, the places you go to, what you drink etc, things like this could get you 1% better or worse.
Examples:
Weight Loss:
If the distance is not more than 30 minutes and you are not running late or the weather is not bad, why not walk rather? You can decide to leave home early to walk the less than 30-minute distance, potentially making you punctual.
If the places you go to often are not far, why not cut down budgets on transportation for those places completely? Wait, do you have a budget for things in your life?
If you have eaten a very large meal why not take fruit for the rest of the day rather than snacking on junk or eating too much?
Skill / Gym:
Do you have a basic timetable for what you will learn or when you will learn them?
Is this timetable visible? I placed my gym timetable right in front of my old working desk when I was trying to keep momentum, with the title "Did you go to the gym today? Think About Your Life"
Do you have an accountability partner, directly or indirectly?
Your workout outfit, are they comfortable, moderate and do you like them?
Are your workout clothes always arranged in your bag before you leave for work or school? Or are they easily visible all the time? (I will talk more about this when I get to Chapter 4)
Instead of or alongside your lover's picture in your phone or computer wallpaper, can it contain your timetable or something you want to remember doing regularly?