Goals are for LOSERS
What if I told you that you could become wildly successful without ever accomplishing another goal for the rest of your life?
I can tell you that. And I will tell you that. Because I did just tell you that.
But let me put it in more clear terms - goals are useless.
Does that go against everything you have ever heard?
Good, then that's where we will start.
Let me go ahead and share with you a good rule of thumb for life, free of charge. But you only get one for free - The crowd is wrong. Always.
So stop following them. Especially if you have been doing so blindly without investigating for yourself.
You are lazy and so am I. We would rather look around and just do what others are doing instead of determining what is in our best interest. And doing that.
Mark Twain sums it up better than I ever could, "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to reform, pause or reflect."
Did I really just share that with you for free?
That's good stuff.
Never say I didn't give you anything.
Anyways, back to my original theory. Why are you a loser if you set goals? Isn't that what you are supposed to do?
I can only speak from my own experience. I never reach any of my goals.
Whether it's a career goal, fitness goal, social goal, sports goal, relationship goal, etc.
And then I feel like crap.
I feel horrible the whole time.
It's like this constant itch on the middle of my back that I can never quite get to. Even when I think I have outsmarted it and use a back scratcher.
Am I just bad at this whole goal thing? (Quite possible)
Or have you noticed this too?
Well, I decided to pick up a book that gave me some insight and I think it could be useful to you. It is called "How to fail at almost anything and still win big" by Scott Adams.
For those of you who don't know, he is the creator of the Dilbert comic strip. You know that one with the funny looking people living the all American cubicle dream? And he has become a modern day philosopher who has some fascinating takes on life.
The book is written in a way that makes you laugh, think, reconsider. And maybe even cry. All the necessary ingredients I need in a book.
He talks about many different avenues of life. But the main idea that I wanted to dig into was this - Goals are for losers. Systems are for winners.
Go on you say....
Alright if you insist.
If you are better than me (not hard) and actually achieve your goal, you feel great and you celebrate for a night. Right?
But then don't you get home and sit in a corner and cry? Because you realize you just lost the thing that gave you a reason to get up in the morning.
Or is that just me?
So you think the solution to your tears is to set another harder-to-reach goal.
But that just sets you up to enter that state of pre-success failure. Again!
And the cycle repeats....
Until you die.
What is the alternative?
A system is something you can do on a consistent basis (preferably daily) that increases your chances of living a better life in the long run.
It doesn't set you up for a pass/fail scenario like goals do. It instills a process of continuous practice/improvement that practically guarantees a better outcome.
I had never considered approaching life in a systematic way like this. I just figured I should find out how to set better goals. Like ones that I could actually reach.
Let me share a few examples of systems that I have implemented. And perhaps this will give you some ideas you could try for yourself.
Health system -
Goal Arman: I would set a goal to gain or lose a certain amount of weight (depending on if it was gains szn or if I was feeling a little pudgy around the midriff). Example: I want to lose 10 pounds in 30 days. Then I would be really excited at first. Try really hard. Not see any quick results. Kinda get depressed. Drive to Zaxby's. Insert wings and things into mouth. And fail.
System Arman: I created a system that required some tweaking but over time has proven way more effective. And it is simple (which is key). Example: Go to the gym to weight train 3 times per week. Go for long walks the other 4 days of the week. Only eat between 12pm-8pm. Natural food only. That's it.
Now I am no Arnold Schwarzenegger or Gene Simmons so don't take health advice from me. But the point is, I created an easy-to-follow system that I can use for the rest of my life. And it is proving way more useful than my old method. Which was coming up with a new years resolution 5 times a year every time I scroll on instagram and watch a fitness guru pump a few bicep curls.
Professional system -
Goal Arman: I would set a sales goal for a specific dollar amount. Example: I want to sell $250,000 in 1 year. And then I would constantly be worrying and discouraged to see that I was still a long ways away from my goal. Which probably led to me performing worse at my job.
System Arman: I created a system that focused on my inputs only. And once again, it was simple (I thrive with simple because I hit my head a few too many times as a kid). Contact 100 prospects per day. That's it. By working backwards, I realized this was the number of people I needed to reach out to in order to sell what I needed.
Now you may be thinking, "a system just sounds like another word for a goal". And that is a reasonable thought.
But it's WRONG.
A good system focuses on the process aka "the journey" instead of the destination.
And plenty of people wiser than me have realized that the journey brings lasting joy.
If you just focus on the end goal then there is only one way to succeed (hit the goal). And so much is out of your control that can cause you to not hit it.
But if you focus on practicing your system day after day then you can end up somewhere you could have never imagined. Which is often much better than whatever short-sighted goal you had in mind.
Is this starting to make sense?
Because this was mind shattering to me. And it has actually changed the way I approach my life.
Maybe this seems like common sense to you. And if it is, then you can stop reading (Thanks for stopping by!).
But if you are sick and tired of feeling inadequate (like I was) then I want you to grab a piece of paper and a pen. And write down one area of your life where you have not reached your goal. And come up with a system that you can take one simple step in implementing today.
Now I am a stranger to some of you. So let me remind you that it is never a good idea to take advice from a stranger.
But if you find yourself on the side of the majority then maybe you should.
And you just might change the world.
One system at a time.
Click this link to check out more about the book and buy it if that tickles your fancy (still not an affiliate link).
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