Systems vs goals

"You don't rise to the level of your goals you fall to the level of your systems" - James Clear

Systems vs goals, habits vs dreams, journey vs destination, practice vs performance. You get the idea, systems are like daily habits and goals are like dreams. The best way to reach your dreams is by taking single steps towards it. Each daily step gets you that little bit closer towards your goal.

So how does one turn your goal into a sustainable system or habit? One day at a time, small incremental steps, making simple desitions and doing it. Not letting yourself get distracted and instead putting in the effort. It's easy to say, hard to do. Want to be a great writer, start writing, one line, one paragraph, one chapter. No one turns dreams into greatness through research and planning. Its execution that turns our dreams into reality and that execution are done through systems and habits.

"All big things come from small beginnings. The seed of every habit is a single, tiny decision. But as that decision is repeated, a habit sprouts and grows stronger. Roots entrench themselves and branches grow. The task of breaking a bad habit is like uprooting a powerful oak within us. And the task of building a good habit is like cultivating a delicate flower one day at a time." - James Clear

You might be reading this and have a dream in your mind that you want to achieve. An have no idea where to start. Break down your ambition, what is at the core of your goal. List something real, achievable not arbitrary or abstract. I want to be rich, famous, wealthy, lose weight, be happy are too abstract. Get more specific, You want to have an exhibition, publish a book, lose 10 kgs, learn how to cook a roast. These are real and to the point. That is the first step you need to take. Honing in on your ambitions.

Next, make it simple, want to run a marathon, put on your running shoes and run for 15 minutes, or walk for a half an hour. Something achievable, something easy. And then do this every day, and as you get into the habit, push yourself further, 15 minutes turns into 30mins, into an hour, two hours, and before you know it you can run a marathon. This is a system this is a habit. A daily practice of putting one foot in front of the other.

What do you want, break it down, and turn your goals into daily rituals and habits? You are your daily systems. You are your default. What you do on an average day is what you will become.

If your daily habit is to sit in front of the tv and drink some wine and dream, then you're a dreamer. If your daily habit is to get up and workout then you're an active person. If your daily habit is to sit down and write then you're a writer. Photographer, a cook, mason, accountant, painter, coder. What you do daily is who you are and who you can become if you only start. Then do it every day for the rest of your life, so be careful what you wish for.

Nothing ever gets easier, but habits take the option of choice out of the equation, so you can do it regardless of the effort needed or pain it might course to start. Think to brush your teeth, taking a shower, chewing food, breathing, driving. You do it so often that it doesn't require mental power, you just know what to do how to do it and when to do it and for how long. It's a habit, an effective system.

What are your daily habits? What systems do you have in place to keep you on the path to greatness, to transcendents? What is the first step you need to take to turn a dream into a habit? Turning your goal into a system.