Don't set goals, set systems!

Goal setting is fascinating in because its sort of a broken proces. This is how it works. You say to yourself:

when I achieve whatever the thing is, that's when I know I have succeeded. And I'm going to do everything to get to that place a quickly as possible.

What this means is that you exist in a failure state for as long as you haven't reached that goal. And this can be a very long time if this is a long term goal. And as you evaluate this process all you get is negative feedback of not having achieved this goal. Maybe as you get closer to achieving this goal you get some positive feedback. But if the goal is the end state, there's a lot of failure before you get there.

A second problem is that when you do get there, it's a massive anti climax. There are people who have achieved the highest highs is athletics and business. And when you ask them what it's like for them to achieve their goals that say thing like, I got there and it was an incredible anti climax. I had to find something new, I had to find a new goal.
And that is because there's something unsatisfying from the moment of reaching a goal, unless it has its own benefits that come from reaching the goal. But if it's just a sort of sign post, that doesn't do much for us. It doesn't nourish us psychologically. And what that means is that we have to find something new.

This is what life looks like when you see it as a series of goals:
It's a period of being unsuccessful of reaching a goal.
Moving to reaching that goal.
Reach your goal and not feeling satisfied for reaching this goal.
Going to the next one.

The goal in itself won't give you any satisfaction which makes you reaching for a bigger goal, which will give the same result. Part of the problem with goals is that they don't tell you how to get where you are going.

Set a System

A better way to go is to use a system. A system focuses on the activity instead of the actual goal. For example, when you are a writer. You can say to yourself I will write for one hour every day, instead of setting the goal of finishing a book. It doen't matter what it looks like or how much you have written. Just that one hour every day. No goal, just the system of one hour in front of that screen and you do what you can.

Every time you set a system and you stick to it you're achieving something. Instead of a goal you're failing for a long period of time until you've reached it, you're succeeding every day as long as you stick to the system. And by succeeding every day it gives you the positive feedback you seek and you need. And ironically you you reach the goal you'd otherwise set, but with the satisfaction of the journey of your system. It is focused on psychological well being.

Systems are focused on what you should be doing, goals are just sign posts you haven't reached yet. Systems are a useful way to engaging with the world around you that set you in motion.

It's the journey that brings you to your destination that counts the most.

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Just a little bit about myself.

I started to share my thoughts and stories on Steemit because I have a deep passion to inspire people and make them think. I've always found inspiration in stories of other people's experiences and I love to share my own experiences on what I discover in my life. I hope some people might find some inspiration in thema and will help them to go further in life.

If you liked this story please consider upvoting and following me. It would really help me to build a community of like minded people that motivate each other. Also I really love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

I wish you well!

Love,

Koen Folkerts

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