Prevailing
wisdom
claims
that
the
best
way
to
achieve
what
we
want
in
life-getting
into
better
shape,
building
a
successful
business,
relaxing
more
and
worrying
less,
spending
more
time
with
frieods
and
family-is
to
set
specific,
actionable
goals.
For
many
years,
this
was
how
I
approached
my
habits,
too.
Each
one
was
a
goal
to
be
reached.
I
set
goals
for
the
grades 1
wanted
to
get
in
school,
for
the
weights
I
wanted
to
lift
in
the
gym,
for
the
profits
I
wanted
to
earn
in
basiness.
I
succeeded
at
a
few,
but
I
failed
at
a
lot
of
them.
Eventually,
I
began
to
realize
that
my
results
had
very
little
to
do
with
the
goals
I
set
and
nearly
everything
to
do
with
the
systems
I
followed.
What's
the
difference
between
systems
and
goals?
It's
a
distinction
I
first
learned
from
Scott
Adams,
the
cartoonist
behind
the
Dilbert
comic.
Goals
are
about
the
results
you
want
to
achieve.
Systems
are
about
the
processes
that
lead
to
those
results. -
If
you're
a
coech,
your
goal
might
be
to
win
a
championship.
Your
system
is
the
way
you
recruit
players,
manage
your
assistant
coaches,
and
conduct
practice. -
If
you're
an
entrepreneur,
your
goal
might
be f0
build
a
million-dollar
business.
Your
system
is
how
you
test
product
ideas,
hire
employees,
and
run
marketing
campaigns.
If
you're
a
musician,
your
goal
might
be
to
play
a
new
piece.
Your
system
is
how
often
you
practice,
how
you
break
down
and
tackle
difficult
measures,
and
your
method
for
receiving
feedback
from
your
instructor.
Now
for
the
interesting
question:
If
you
completely
ignored
your
goals
and
focused
only
on
your
system,
would
you
still
succeed?
For
example,
if
you
were
a
basketball
coach
and
you
ignored
your
goal
to
win
a
championship
and
focused
only
on
what
your
team
does
at
prac
tice
each
day,
would
you
still
get
results?
I
think
you
would.
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.
In
the
words
of
three-time
Super
Bowl
winner
Bill
Walsh, "
The
score
takes
care
of
itsell"
The
same
is
true
for
other
areas
of
life.
If
you
want
better
results,
then
forget
about
setting
goals.
Focus
on
your
system
instead. *
What
do
I
mean
by
this?
Are
goals
completely
useless?
Of
course
not.
Goals
are
good
for
setting
a
direction,
but
systems
are
best
for
making
progress.
A
handful
of
problems
arise
when
you
spend
too
much
time
thinking
about
your
goals
and
not
enough
time
designing
your
systems.