Should We Build Goals or Systems for Ourselves?

"You don't rise to the level of your goals, you fall to the level of your systems"

                                 -James Clear, Atomic Habits

What is the meaning of your life? Most people are yet to discover their purpose. We believe creating goals will help us find the answer. However, does the act of achieving one objective fulfill the need of contentment in our lives?

"It is not about the destination. It is about the journey." This saying applies to the concept of goals and systems. The goal is the destination. Systems are the journey. Here is an example of the two: you want to score an A on a test. This is your goal. When you study for the test, that is your system. Systems are daily tasks you do to reach your goals. Without systems, the chances of achieving your goals are little to none.

In the game in which we call life:

"The purpose of building goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long term thinking is goal-less thinking. It's not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress." (Clear).

Goals are short-term. When you set a goal for yourself, you are exposed to the chance of failure. We often stress and doubt when we cannot meet our goals. This prevents us from continuing and ultimately creates failure. If we did achieve our goal, we celebrate. This feeling of accomplishment is finite. When the happiness fades, we set harder goals and have more expectations on ourselves again. This is why goals are a short-term cycle.

Building systems is the act of long term thinking. We build our potential when we build systems. It makes you stay committed to the progress and not fixate on one thing. We are able to outgrow our goals and keep going.

"When you fall in love with the process rather than the product; you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running and a system can be successful in many different forms, not just the one you first envision."(Clear).

Going back to the example of the goal of wanting to ace a test, there is a form of accomplishment before meeting the goal itself. Being happy that you finished studying.  This is a way to be satisfied with your systems. If you continue to want to get good grades, you will always study, and that will never change. However, our systems allow us to become flexible with the outcomes. You can be open to new types of successes beyond your first intent with a goal.

How do you approach systems and goals? Do you believe in goals or trust your systems to make you feel content? Do you have systems? If so, have you ever felt progress in completing your goals or has it brought more than with the outcome so far?