If goals are the destinations we want to reach someday, then the systems we put in place are the paths we take to get there.
If goals are the destinations we want to reach someday, then the systems we put in place are the paths we take to get there. Those paths might be long or short, direct or winding, downhill or up, but we must walk them to reach our goals, no matter what.
The more we commit to the system, instead of just the end goal, the more progress we can make. That’s because, unlike a goal, a system is something we can easily put in practice. A goal is great for motivating us, but it often isn’t immediately attainable. A system, on the other hand, gives us something we can accomplish on a regular basis.
If your goal is to learn how to play the guitar, your system is practicing daily for ten minutes before you go to bed each night.
Tiny habits—a concept pioneered by noted behaviorist BJ Fogg—have a remarkable capacity to generate big life changes. (Click here for more about that.) The power of tiny habits is that they:
If you’d like to set up some goal-reaching systems that will take your tiny habits to the next level, here are some simple tweaks you might try.