“For me, becoming isn’t about arriving somewhere or achieving a certain aim. I see it instead as forward motion, a means of evolving, a way to reach continuously toward a better self. The journey doesn’t end.”~Michelle Obama
You’ve just achieved a goal you’ve been working towards for two years. You did it! Congratulations. Someone asks you: how does it feel? “Kind of anti-climactic, actually,” you say. This scenario is quite common among those who have achieved even the highest benchmarks in business, athletics, or art, says Adam Alter, and it’s because the goal-setting process is broken.
With long-term goals particularly, you spend the large majority of the time in a failure state, awaiting what could be a mere second of success down the track.
This can be a hollow and unrewarding process. Describing an idea first proposed by Scott Adams in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big, Alter suggests swapping quantitative goals (I will write 1,000 words of my novel per day. I will run 1km further every week) for qualitative systems—like writing every morning with no word target, or running in a new environment each week—that nourish you psychologically, and are independently rewarding each time you do them.
Adam Alter is the author of Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked.
Learn to Set Systems | Adam Alter
- Identify ONE thing you want to become and write it down.
- Create a system for your becoming [what action will you regularly do to become that thing?] and write it down.
- Make a plan in your schedule to do the action.
- Do it.
- Review your daily tasks [all that you need to do in a day] twice a day to hold yourself accountable & get back on track when you slip up.
- What are your thoughts on this idea of Systems vs. Goals? Please share in the comments.
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I think that systems are more rewarding and surprising. If you set a goal to run a mile today, once you finish you know how much you ran and it’s not as enjoyable. If set a system to just run today, you might surprise yourself cause you did 2 miles. Don’t limit yourself will goals, set systems, I think was the meaning of the thought. And I agree with it.
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I think that systems are really helpful, and seem very useful. It helps you do measurable things, while still working efficiently. I do disagree with one thing he said, though… When you are working towards a goal, you aren’t failing. There’s nothing bad about not having accomplished a goal. You’re simply working towards something. If you mess up, then yes, you made a mistake, but it’s a mistake that you can learn from, so you never really fail while working towards a goal.
I get that you don’t feel that way but I think most people don’t set goals [or write them down] because, to them, it does feel bad or, at least, incomplete.
The idea Adam Alter is suggesting is: once you set a goal, you have a void until you accomplish that goal. The incompleteness of the goal can feel like you have failed. And though failure is necessary for growth, this particular way can be distracting. Your reason why can help to motivate you but sometimes the thoughts of how far you have to go to accomplish the goal can be discouraging.
If you have a system, that removes the void and empowers you to focus on your mission of becoming what the system is set up to help you become [with no void].
A system is almost like looking at things a glass half full instead of a glass half empty. As long as you continue to follow the system, you will get to the same place as if you were only making goals.
Justin, I think it’s more than the optimism of a glass half full. Get some ice & stir the drink! 😂
In other words, I think systems are built on action plans but goals can include procrastination. Therefore, mapping on what the system produces consistently will be more accurate than the estimation of a goal.
wow. 1 I am now sold on systems versus goals. to me the system is the a way to achieve your goal. otherwise, the goal just sits there on the dream board without any real plan to take it into effect as they talked about in the video. will focus on this going forward
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I want to become the person who doesn’t struggle to wake up early in the morning ( I try 4:30 everyday) as if right now, some days I struggle to wake up while other days it is super easy. Today was a day that was super easy. I want to start by trying to identify why it was easy to wake up today but harder some other days and I want to take action on those specific things. My thoughts of the idea of systems vs goals is based on what I have learned from Q and also what I have learned from videos and experience. I think that goals are important but without a system, they are more of a dream. A goal is short or mid term ( about 2 years max usually). Systems are how you achieve the goals and to a good system can be molded and adapted as you go. I think of a goal as a finish line of a race and the system is how we run it. There may be roadblocks such as big rocks, etc. And though it may slow us down, we can always adapt and change according to the roadblock and our system can be adapted to cater towards that roadblock and to continue the race. For example, imagine your goal is to wake up in the morning at 4;30 AM ( like me 🙂 Your system may start off as “sleep by so and so time and limit electronics after a certain time” After trying this out for a couple of days, you realize that you are struggling with limiting your screen time. This would be a roadblock. But as you think more and get advice from others, you realize a great way to limit your screen time is by setting screen time restrictions and a downtime om your phone. Without the system, you have no path to achieve that goal and you aren’t as likely to follow through. Where as if you have a system, you have a path to follow through with that can be molded and adapted to push through problems. But without the goal, your system isn’t building towards anything, and it therefore won’t be at all as effective. This is my thoughts about goals vs systems. I think they both lean on each other and both are vital for each other.
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This article resonated with me. System to be more of an evolving life process towards living your best life and being your best you – vs reaching a finite end state. This is absolutely the right framing.
I like this idea of systems because it doesn’t limit myself. When setting a quantitative goal vs a qualitative one, I am trying to achieve a number but when I am setting a qualitative goal, I can surprise yourself and push past what I would normally do. I think having a system is also very important when I want to achieve a goal. With no system, a goal is only a vision for myself with no actual way of getting there. Continuously checking in with my system will allow me to stay disciplined and accountable
I used to make goals but now I’m going to make systems. Systems can do the same as goals just you don’t have to limit yourself to only during a certain amount you can do as much as you can and it can be very different. Your goal could have been to do 100 push ups but in your system you might have done 300 because you didn’t limit yourself to only doing some.
System vs goals. I can honestly say I have not thought of it like this. Makes so much sense. But, I do think we still need goals, possibly they go hand in hand. When I set goals for myself I am truly more productive. I am always setting them small and longterm.
I like it, I think the idea of consistently succeeding instead of consistently failing in order to reach something will allow me to be better motivated and want to do the task each day rather than dread it.
Goals are something you work for. A system is a series fo step to get something. For example the water cycle. It is a system of how water vaporizes and then condenses back into rain. A goal on the other hand is something you try to achieve and your determination is immense to get it
Systems are the actions. The system should be rewarding. We shouldn’t constantly be waiting for the goal to feel the reward.
I have found that it helps a lot if you right down goals and plan out a schedule. I find that it is much easier to remember to do them and to stay on schedule. It is also physically there instead of just an idea because once you have written it down it is easier to complete it and stay on track.
I think the idea of consistent success, resonates with the idea that if you surround yourself with positive thoughts and ideas. If you are instead of being judged for what you do wrong, praised for what you do right. You can grow with the idea and confidence and put you in the right attitude to not only jump start your day, but also getting pass any obstacle that comes your way.
I think it’s very important to have a Goal in your life. After you set the goal & achieve you want to make another goal! I set my goal to do 10,000 steps everyday & I am definitely planning to set next goal once I achieve my goal for at least 3 months!
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I think I will try to implement systems in my everyday life with school and other things I have to do because I had always set goals, and I did experience the part where it felt anti climactic, and I think that systems would make achieving the end result more meaningful to me.
I love the strategy and I have included it on my 1% journal.
I love the Michelle Obama quote, it was spot on because the journey continues as long as our intentions are to strive to be a better version of ourselves at each point of the journey.
I know the importance of systems but I have not considered them in reference to goals. I am excited to make this shift because one of the hardest things for me in achieving my goals is identifying the steps from where I am to the finish. Having a system gives me doable steps to take. I can shift and tweak as I progress. My progress is more easily measured. This give me wins all along the way.
Systems supports the pathway towards being successful at my goals. Creating small milestones that lead up to the goal has been helpful. I find that I am more forgiving of myself.
I feel like systems and goals have the same end result- to get you to complete a task. But the process between the two is drastically different and what gives one the satisfaction of actually completing the task. A goal is just a bench mark and idea of something you want to complete but a system gives you positive feedback and benchmarks to achieve that goal- it basically gives you a means to achieving the task In a more systematic and rewarding way