Focus on systems everyday, not goals

In business, there is often a fixation on big goals and dramatic results. “Get 1 million followers! … Build a 6-figure business!”

When you constantly focus on future numerical goals, two things happen:

1. Your subconscious keeps telling you — daily — that you aren’t there… that you aren’t yet “enough”.

Desire becomes a contract we make with ourselves to be unhappy until something specific happens. (paraphrase of Naval)

The fixation on a big numeric goal (such as “6 figure income” or “1 million followers”) creates an underlying layer of unhappiness or anxiety with one’s current life.

2. The more you focus on the specifics of the goal, the more you become attached to how it must turn out.

If that goal doesn’t happen in the way you visualized — or in the timeline you expected — it deals a blow to your self-identity. It erodes your sense of empowerment.

Let’s look at a healthier, less stressful way:

Focus on your systems — your processes — rather than your goals. ​

(You might find that it creates better results, too!)

I’m not saying to get rid of goals. I, too, have a vision for my future life and specific milestones I am interested in achieving.