If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you’re waiting to achieve it someday, it’s a goal.
If you had a choice, focus on building systems instead of chasing goals. This system-versus-goals framework applies to nearly every area of life.
- Losing ten kilos is a goal, but eating healthy is a system.
- Running a marathon in under five hours is a goal, but running 5 km daily is a system.
- Creating a million-dollar retirement nest egg is a goal, but saving 1500 dollars in an SIP every month is a system.
- Achieving a million-dollar sales target is a goal; making three sales calls daily is a system.
When you are goal-oriented, you are constantly pursuing something and stuck in a perpetual loop of failing if things don’t go as planned.
In contrast, a smarter and more efficient strategy is to focus on a system where you succeed every time you stick to your routine. You derive your satisfaction and success from your consistent actions without constantly worrying about goal achievement.
The system is the input that drives the outcomes. Your success is always in your systems.
James Clear puts it very nicely in his book Atomic Habits-You don’t rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.