"Forget Goals, Focus on Systems"

 

While it is common wisdom to set specific, actionable goals in order to achieve what we want in life, it is actually the systems we follow that often determine our results. Whether it is getting into better shape, building a successful business, or spending more time with friends and family, it is the habits and practices we follow that will ultimately lead to success.

For many years, I approached my own habits with this goal-oriented mindset. I set goals for grades, weights to lift, and profits to earn. While I did succeed at a few, I also failed at many. It was only after realizing that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed that I began to see real progress.

Take the example of a basketball coach. Their goal might be to win a championship, but it is the way they recruit players, manage assistant coaches, and conduct practice that determines their success. The same is true for an entrepreneur looking to build a million-dollar business, or a musician trying to play a new piece. It is the systems they follow – how they test product ideas, hire employees, practice, or receive feedback – that will lead to progress.

But what happens if we completely ignore our goals and focus only on our systems? Will we still succeed? The answer is yes. The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard. The only way to actually win is to get better each day. As three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh said, "The score takes care of itself." The same is true for other areas of life. If we want better results, we need to forget about setting goals and focus on our systems instead.

There are a few problems with relying too heavily on goals. For one, winners and losers often have the same goals. We tend to focus on the people who end up succeeding – the survivors – and assume that their ambitious goals led to their success. But we overlook all of the people who had the same goals but didn't achieve them. This is known as survivorship bias.

Another problem with goals is that achieving them only leads to a momentary change. Imagine you have a messy room and you set a goal to clean it. If you manage to tidy up, you'll have a clean room – for now. But if you maintain the same sloppy habits that caused the mess in the first place, you'll soon be looking at a new pile of clutter and hoping for another burst of motivation. Achieving a goal only treats the symptom, not the root cause.

So what's the solution? It's important to identify the underlying systems that drive our behaviors and results. Goals can be demotivating, as we often feel like we have failed if we don't achieve them. Systems, on the other hand, can be more motivating, as we can focus on making small improvements every day. Goals can be based on arbitrary deadlines, while systems allow us to make progress at our own pace. We are often more committed to a process than to a particular outcome.

Systems also allow us to build habits that can lead to long-term success. Goals can create a fixed mindset, while systems encourage a growth mindset. They are also more flexible, as we can adjust and improve them over time. We often feel a sense of accomplishment when we complete a task within a system, rather than when we achieve a goal. Systems can be more efficient, as we can focus on what is most important and eliminate distractions.