Are You Setting Goals for Business and Life Without the Right System?
You don’t keep failing your goals. It’s your goals that are failing you.
And I hate to break it you, but… Your goals are failing because you’ve been setting them wrong this entire time.
But don’t worry – it’s not that you’re lazy. Or that you lack discipline.
The reason you’re not hitting your goals is that you don’t have a system to reach them.
I read Atomic Habits earlier this year, and it completely changed how I approach setting goals. If you’ve never read it, I highly recommend it.
That book made me realize something really simple: Goals don’t change your life. But your habits do.
And habits? Those are just systems that you repeat – over and over and over again.
That is how you stay consistent. That is how you stay “motivated”. And that is how you reach any goal – even those massive, life-changing ones.
Now if you’re anything like me, then setting goals goes a little something like this.
You set the goal, you write it down, maybe you even buy a new planner or a new notebook or new gym clothes – or whatever special things you “need” to feel excited and motivated to accomplish your new goal.
You start off strong and then… Life starts life-ing.
And you get busy, tired, or something unexpected comes along and throws you off course.
Maybe you get back on track, but then it happens again.
And it’s harder to find motivation to get back on track the next time. And even harder the next time.
Until eventually you just give up. And if you’re lucky, you’ve spent a few dedicated weeks or even a few months trying to reach your goal.
Until you completely fall off the wagon again, and then the cycle repeats and repeats itself year after year after year.
This is not a discipline problem. You’re not undisciplined.
This is what happens when you set goals without a system in place to get you there. A goal without a system is just a shiny object on a shelf that you look at until it gets boring, and you stop looking at it.
If you truly want to change your life, in any way, it takes consistent, repeatable action steps.
I know I know, it’s so much easier to just look at your goal on the shelf, no one actually wants to focus on the very unsexy baby steps or systems that will get you there.
But it’s your systems and habits that will carry you when you’re tired, distracted, and overwhelmed.
They make achieving your goals automatic.
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So here’s how to fix it…
Achieving Goals Step #1: Set Your Goal
What exactly is it that you want to achieve? I want you to dream big.
Claim and name what you want.
The sky is the limit. What do you actually want your life to look like?
A great goal should scare you a little and excite you a lot.
If it doesn’t scare you, it’s not big enough, and if it doesn’t excite you, your system won’t survive the inevitable friction that’s going to come along and try to derail you.
Achieving Goals Step #2: Define “Done”
Alright, the next big mistake most people make is not being clear about what this goal “achieved” actually looks like.
Many people approach goal-setting with very, very generic goals like getting healthier, working less, having more fun, making more money, having more freedom or spending more time with friends.
Those are all great goals and, sure, but they aren’t even close to being specific enough.
Do you want freedom? Cool. What does that mean?
Is freedom only working 3 days a week? Traveling? Picking your kids up from school?
How do you know when you reach the goal of “healthier”? What does healthier look like?
What specifically is it that you want? Get granular.
Your goals have to be trackable and measureable to be goals, because if you can’t measure it, then you can’t build a system for it.
Achieving Goals Step #3: Build The System
Now here’s where the real shift comes into play.
Stop asking: “How do I hit this goal?”
And start asking: “What would someone who already has this result be doing every day?” And that answer becomes the starting point of your new system.
If your goal is to get 3 more clients, your system might look like:
- 2 client applications a day on Upwork every day
- 3 connections with warm leads and potential referrers a week
- 20 outreach messages a week
These aren’t just nice ideas or generic goals. They’re specific behaviors. There is a verb associated with them. They involve action.
But we all know that even specific behaviors and rituals can fall through the cracks before you have a chance to get them to stick.
That’s why the 4th step is arguably the most important step…
Achieving Goals Step #4: Schedule Habits
Yep, we’re going to make these behaviors impossible to ignore.
As they say, show me your calendar, and I’ll tell you your priorities. If it’s not in your calendar, it’s not going to happen.
So rather than set a generic goal like, say, spend more quality time with the hubby.
Create a system or habit that supports that goal.
Like weekly date nights. Put it in your calendar. And then, this is the most important part… actually do it.
If you say it’s a priority, make it a priority. Period. And protect that time at all costs.
One of my goals at the beginning of the year was to spend more time nourishing and feeding my creativity.
I had a realization that I used to spend a lot more time in “creative thinking” mode, back before I had a big team to manage, content to create and thousands of students to teach.
So I set the goal: Feed my creativity.
I decided what done looks like: Creative thinking and writing time. I built the system: 1 hour a day. Just me and a blank notebook. Then, I scheduled it. First thing in the morning. Yup, I set my alarm to get up earlier for it.
And it has quickly become the best part of my day. My creativity is on fire and I feel like my ideas and strategies are blooming.
It honestly feels so easy now and I look forward to it. It’s the favorite part of my day.
Because here’s the part no one tells you.
Systems are life-changing because they remove decision fatigue. Constant decision-making, weighing options, negotiating with yourself, “Should I or shouldn’t I?” is what drains you.
The fewer decisions you have to make, the more consistent you become. And that is the difference between people who stay stuck vs the people who actually change their lives.
One relies on motivation. The other relies on systems.
So stop asking: “What are my goals?”
And start asking: “What system would make this goal inevitable to reach?”
Build one system. Schedule it. Stick to it. And then come back and tell me it didn’t change everything.
Until next time, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
