Forget Setting Goals: Worry About Your System

Why is it that so many people fail to reach their goals when it comes to working out? Well, the reason is pretty simple ? they have no systems.

Goal setting for 2015 should be the last thing on your mind at the moment. Believe or not, but having a clear system is the key to reaching long-term targets. Too many of us are doomed to failure before we’ve even started, or we backslide as soon as we complete a short-term target.

This is where we cross over to Breaking Muscle, which has a very interesting post that will change your perception on setting goals forever. It explains the importance of having an effective system in place:

What?s the difference and why is it so important? A?goal?is hitting a squat personal record (PR). A?system?is following a tried-and-tested squat plan like?Smolov?or?5/3/1?until you hit that PR. A goal is six-pack abs and 10% body fat. A system is?Precision Nutrition.

Systems are daily tasks. If you want to excel, they?re daily tasks done mindfully and to the best of your ability every single time.?When you do the daily tasks to the best of your ability, you?ll magically find that after a few years ?all of a sudden? you?re pretty good.

They also give some excellent examples of successful systems:

Think about your fitness journey like McDonald?s would. They don?t fly by the seat of their pants. Ever. McDonalds didn’t think about serving a billion burgers. Instead, they set out to serve burgers that were as close to identical as possible, as efficiently as possible.?And along the way, they ended up serving a billion burgers.

If this article hasn’t persuaded you to ditch goal setting, I?m not sure what will. All in all, having a good system in place ensures far more success and consistency in the long-term than any singular goal. So what are you waiting for? Get yourself out there and start planning some systems!