Why You Need Systems Instead of Goals

Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
              - James Clear

I recently read Atomic Habits by James Clear. It’s a fantastic book about building good habits and systems in order to make progress and achieve your goals.
 
Goals are great, but simply having a goal doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Without a system in place, goals are only dreams. For example, you might have a goal of winning first chair in your band. That’s a great goal. But, without a system of practicing every day, you’re probably not going to achieve it (unless you’re the only bassoonist in your band, which is a very real possibility.) Furthermore, you need the good habits of putting your bassoon together every day and making a practice plan in order to have a good system.

So, a goal is something you want to achieve, like winning first chair. A system is how you’re going to achieve it. It’s what actually creates results. A system is practicing scales for 10 minutes in your living room, every weekday when you get home from school.
 
What makes a system different from a goal? A goal is only focused on one specific outcome that will happen in the future. A system is what you do every day in order to make progress. The best systems are specific and say what you’re going to do, where you’re going to do it, and when you’re going to do it. (example: what? practice scales for 10 minutes; where? living room; when? after school).
 
Here’s what James Clear says:
 
“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.”
 
In fact, he even lays out four problems with goals! This blew my mind. I’ve always been incredibly goal-oriented, and I’m forever making lists of goals that I want to achieve. This book made me realize that those lists don’t actually create results. Systems create results.
 
Here are the four problems with goals, according to James Clear:
 
1) Winners and losers have the same goals
Yep, can’t deny this one. Think about going to an audition. Every single person at the audition has the same goal – to win. But not everybody is going to win, even though everyone has that goal. So, clearly, there has to be something different that results in the desired outcome of winning the audition.
 
2) Achieving a goal is only a momentary change
James Clear says, When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily. In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.” In other words, achieving a goal is only a temporary improvement. However, focusing on a system can create lasting improvements. For example, if you win first chair at your next chair test, that’s great! That’s a temporary change. But if you stop practicing (stop focusing on the system), then you probably not get first chair again at your next chair test. Focus on the system (practicing every day) and the results (becoming a better bassoon player) will take care of themselves.
 
3) Goals restrict your happiness
Have you ever thought, “I’ll be happy once I learn this new piece, or I’m first chair, or I win this competition, or…” We’ve probably all had those thoughts. However, this is a very restricted view of happiness! What if you get second chair? That’s still pretty great, especially if you played your best and improved your playing ability. But since your goal was first chair, you might feel pretty disappointed with second chair. With this pattern, you’ll probably find it pretty difficult to find happiness in life. However, if you find satisfaction in the system (practicing regularly), you’re much more likely to be happy! Rather than relying on a specific goal (getting first chair) to make us happy, we can find happiness in improving our playing ability by creating a system (practicing consistently.) As James Clear says, “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.” A caveat: I am all for trying to be your best, wanting to win competitions, and wanting to be first chair. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it’s a good thing to be motivated by competition. However, the point is to find satisfaction in practicing every day, rather than waiting to be satisfied until you reach a certain goal. Finding joy in the system will actually help you reach all those goals, too!
 
4) Goals are at odds with long-term progress
What? I thought goals were how you made long-term progress! But, yet again, Clear has a good point. If you’re only focused on goals, once you’ve achieved your goal there’s no motivation to continue training or practicing. You have to be committed to the system in order to make long-term improvement. Let’s say you practice diligently, and you finally win first chair (and you’re not even the only bassoonist in your band!) You’ve achieved your goal! Satisfied that you’ve accomplished your goal, you decide you don’t need to practice every day. Once a week should be fine… or maybe just a few times a month. Now, you’re no longer making progress towards being a good bassoon player and musician. And, you probably won’t stay first chair for very long. However, if you focus on the system of practicing every day, you’ve established a good habit that enables long-term progress. Winning first chair is a nice thing happened, but you’re also progressing if you get second chair, or third chair. Don’t let those results affect you too much, just focus on getting a little bit better every day by practicing consistently.
 
In conclusion, start focusing more on systems, and the goals will take care of themselves. Personally, I still like having goals, but I’m trying to shift my mindset to become system-oriented instead of goal-oriented. It’s actually pretty fun. You get a little burst of satisfaction every day when you work on your system, rather than having to wait weeks or months to see if you achieve your goal. The great thing about systems (practicing scales for 10 minutes every day) is that even if you don’t achieve your goal (winning first chair), you’ve still made progress towards being a good bassoon player! Working on becoming a better bassoonist will not only propel you towards future goals, but it is also the point of playing in the first place. We play music for music for many reasons, but among them are pursuing excellence, having fun, and learning discipline. These are all things that are accomplished by creating systems rather than simply setting goals.