Goal setting is not how you achieve the things you want in life.

It’s easy to become over-invested in achieving your goal.

You know… when the only thing you can think of is achieving the goal.

The excitement. The joy. The relief.

This is called a “positive fantasy.”

It’s not healthy.

Psychologists have found the number one way your brain can unintentionally deter you from realizing your goals is by fantasizing.

Positive fantasies allow you to indulge in the desired future mentally…

You can taste the sensations of what it’s like to achieve your goal in the present — this depletes your energy to pursue your desired future.

You’re also not alert to the obstacles you will inevitably face, which leaves you stagnant upon encounter.

Goals hone in on outcomes…

This doesn’t take into consideration the development required to maintain the outcome.

Why do you think 70% of lottery winners go broke and a third declare bankruptcy within three to five years?

The symptom is treated (being broke), but the cause (lousy spending habits) is untouched.

It’s easy to think the outcomes are the problem when things look gloomy — you’re conscious of them —

When you’re broke, you feel broke.

When you’re overweight, you feel overweight.

But it’s easy to miss the cause for the recurring outcomes because they usually occur at a subconscious level.

But if you continue to spend recklessly or eat junk food all the time, you’ll be right back to where you started.

Solving problems at the outcome level is temporary.

Have you ever thought, “when I achieve X, I’ll be happy?”

That is the failure state.

It’s a by-product of adopting the goal-first mentality.

Happiness is pushed to some later date in the future while your present self battles with the misery of the current moment.

The reason it occurs is simple: goal orientation creates either-or conflicts —

“you are either a failure (you have not achieved what you want), or you are a success (you have achieved what you want).”

There’s no middle ground.

Systems are the moving force for the goals you set.

“Goals are good for setting a direction but systems are best for making progress.”

— James Clear, Atomic Habits

Here are a few examples of effective systems:

→ Objective: Write a book in a year. System: Write “two shitty pages a day” (as Tim Ferris would say).
→ Objective: Grow on social media. System: Post daily.
→ Objective: Master an instrument. System: Practice the fundamentals of the instrument daily.

Systems introduce structure.

Systems eliminate the guesswork about what you must do to achieve what you want.

Goals without systems create chaos in your life.

Focusing on the skill embraces process — “I’m not yet where I want to be, but if I do X, I’ll be a step closer.”

Even if you do not achieve your goal, you have developed a skill that will stay with you forever.

All of your efforts are not in vain.

Unlike goals, systems emphasize process…

Systems treat the cause of a problem, and the symptoms (outcomes) change as a by-product.

“Fix the inputs, and the outputs will fix themselves.”
— James Clear

The secret to building an effective system is incorporating small, consistent wins into your life.

You must have something you can celebrate each day.

Brace yourself.

Step 1: What do you want to achieve?

Sit down and think about what you want.

Be honest with yourself, and don’t be afraid to go deep.

Step 2: The five why’s

Everyone has goals they want to achieve — sometimes, people have the same goals as you.

What will set you apart from them is your why.

Your “why” is what fills you with a sense of mission.

But it is essential to identify where the core problem lies — the thing blocking you from where you want to be (Remember: systems treat the cause, not the symptom).

The five why’s technique is a great tool to discover exactly that.

It’s pretty simple; ask yourself why you want what you want, answer, and repeat the process four more times.

The root cause of our scenario cases problems is low-self esteem. The goal of their mission (to become what they want) is to build their self-esteem — which is something that can be worked on each day.

Step 3: Learn the core actions required

I like to think of this stage as building the bridge from where you are now to where you want to be…

The great thing about learning what you need to do is that you don’t have to come up with it by yourself.

It’s likely others have already achieved what you want.

All you have to do is find them and follow the trail they left behind.

Step 4: Set implementation intentions

Now you’ve identified the actions required to get what you want, you must set intentions to implement them.

This is known as implementation intentions.

They are commitments to perform an action at a specific time and location — you specify what you’re going to do when you’re going to do it, and where.

The structure for an implementation intention is as follows:

“I will [ACTION] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].”

Implementation intentions are a safety net for days when your motivation is depleted…

And there will be a few of those days.

Step 5: Review

The implementation intentions you initially set will build off proven systems that you have adopted from people who have achieved what you want.

It’s vital you understand why systems are so effective so you can adapt and improve them accordingly.

This involves tracking your progress to measure what is and is not working for you.

Goals are great for giving you a sense of direction, but they are not enough to move you forward.

You must build a system that allows you to continuously move towards your goal, even when you are void of motivation.

To create a system, simply:

Define what you want
Identify why you want it
Learn the actions you must take
Set implementation intentions
Review the system