In Episode 14 of The Heal Deal Podcast with Dr. Leona, we discussed why creating systems in your life can help you achieve success. Systems provide structure and purpose to your everyday activities, so it’s important to understand how they work and what benefits they can offer. We’ll discuss why having a system matters, and you’ll leave with tangible advice to put it into action!
What’s the difference between a Goal and a System?
A goal is a light at the end of the tunnel, a beacon of hope to ground you on your path toward achieving something bigger and greater than yourself. It can come to us as an event, a dream, or a vision that drives our passions, motivation, and life mission forward. But the system is vital to reaching that goal.
Our system includes helpful tools such as efficient action plans, resource lists, and additional instructions for any roadblocks to success. It also encourages us to learn from past successes and missteps, address gaps, and continuously improve toward our desired outcome.
A reliable system helps us stay focused on achieving our objectives. Therefore, no matter how daunting the goal may appear at first glance, you will accomplish it within a reasonable time frame.
We Create Systems to Reach a Specific Goal
Setting achievable objectives is critical to having success. It gives us the roadmap we need to follow. For example, if our goal is to publish a book, then implementing an effective writing schedule will make all the difference. Likewise, building structure and practicing consistently over time will increase our chances of achieving that result.
Likewise, if we want to reach ambitious fitness goals such as running 10Ks, we need to commit to long-term consistency and lifestyle changes.
By addressing physical and personal commitments, one can continue to take an active role in reaching their desired outcome. Combined with the established objectives, this helps solidify ownership over health and future direction.
Ultimately, proper systems tailored to unique goals empower us to see consistent progress toward desired outcomes!
Systems Don’t Run Off of Motivation
When you set a goal, you get excited. You visualize the plan and tell yourself, I’m going to do it this time. I failed over and over, but this time I will do it. And you are so motivated to act.
But what happens eventually? What happens to that motivation? It goes down. Absolutely. And then, once that momentum is gone, you’re back to where you started. You’re discouraged, and you’re upset. You’re mad at yourself.
But the problem is this: you are relying on your feelings and motivation to reach the goal, not a system. So, when you have that system in place, you’re focused on the system and what you need to do consistently until you reach the goal. So you’re no longer focused on the goal.
Say you start going to the gym, and after about three weeks, you don’t see many results. You may have lost a pound or two, but you’re discouraged because you still have 35 pounds to go.
You’re looking at yourself from where you are and where you need to go, but you’re not focusing on the process of getting there. That’s where that discouragement comes from. You’re thinking to yourself, “I still have 35 pounds to go…” That’s what stops us, and we give up.
When I have a client at the office, I sit with them. Then, in the first month, I give them strategies: I tell them what to eat, what not to snack on, and to cut out certain processed foods, and they start immediately because they’re motivated.
But I know, as a coach, that motivation eventually goes away, and I have to be ready for that. Because when they come to the office, maybe about a month or two into the program, I see the face. I don’t even have to say anything. I know that look in their eyes.
They say, “Doc, I’ve been bad. I fell off. I had that pie. I had that bag of Skittles.” They fell off because they lacked motivation. I’ve seen this over and over again.
When you focus on the journey, when you focus on the system, when you focus on what you need to do and what not to do, the results will take care of themselves.
If you’re one of those who focus on the goal, you need a system.
Systems are Path-Makers
I love systems because they give me a structured path to follow. They help me stay consistent with habits and goals; however, before I relied on an organizational system, I never stayed on the same course for long. My aspirations frequently shifted and changed. Sure, I had boatloads of sometimes charming ideas and hopes for the future, but I lacked a single system to track them. Structure helped me plan and reach those goals.
Without this guidance, small life choices can turn into big problems when you least expect them. What if my upcoming business trip causes schedule conflicts? What if rough days leave me too exhausted to make it through dinner chores? Even simple decisions carry bigger implications, so having systems in place for spontaneous dilemmas is invaluable.
Any successful lifestyle plan needs an emergency system in place. But, of course, we’re talking more than just an emergency food system. Even emotional eating needs accurate systems. When life happens, so do unplanned events and urges to eat in response to emotional triggers.
Creating comprehensive plans includes designing unique meal-planning systems and strategizing effective exercise shortcuts. Doing your research is key when you come across various methods for building meaningful lifestyle systems while staying mindful of what brings balance.
As you work on these systems over time, even small, individualized inconsistencies can undermine the strategies that eventually become a steady motivation for progress-chasing aspirations. That’s an even-power approach that provides triumph through adaptation!
How to Put Your Systems into Motion
Before setting out on this journey, it’s essential to understand your end goal and why it matters to you – an important step that many of us can find challenging.
To gain clarity and choose the most effective route, you may need guidance from experts outside yourself. I specialize in helping individuals like you build a framework for success by discussing where they are now so we can create a tangible strategy to support them as they continue their journey.
Having a plan for success is essential to reaching your goals! So, take the time now to establish manageable daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly habits that will help ensure you stay on track.
For example, if you want to lose 40 pounds, meal planning can be vital to getting there. Not only should meals, like what and when they’ll be eaten each day, need consideration, but other factors, such as preparation techniques or budgeting guidelines, must also come into play.
Systems are Meant to be Adjusted
In my practice, the strategy for success is to try different things and not fear failure. Therefore, my clients and I consistently readjust and repeat drills until the desired results show. We can do this during follow-up visits, where we note habits and track progress.
An honest evaluation of what went wrong can be incredibly valuable when individuals have grown frustrated or burned out along the way. That’s why it helps to recognize & log successes and deviations so that any new adjustments or changes can target their development precisely.
When you are not getting the results you want, evaluate the system, not the goal. Never be afraid to try different things and ask for help, especially if you cannot do this alone.
Create a System That Works for You
Keeping what works and eliminating what doesn’t is integral to any journey. It’s tedious and rewarding to discover where you may fall short and find new solutions to fill those gaps.
Doing so isn’t always easy, but the joy of getting educated and learning what you don’t know more than makes up for it.
Taking on a journey to improve yourself is a fantastic experience. But unfortunately, we often want to develop a skill before beginning the journey.
Yet, research shows that hands-on education provides invaluable knowledge that occasional offline studies or accelerated learning modules cannot match. The best way to develop the necessary skills is by taking the journey itself, exploring alongside those who have already been there before you.
Creating systems in your life is essential to achieving success. Whether it’s weight loss or skill development, taking small steps towards progress each day and keeping what works while eliminating what doesn’t are key components to reaching success.
Want to better understand what your body may be trying to tell you?
Take the Metabolic Reset Quiz to identify where your health may need more support and what to focus on next.
Take the quiz at: TheMetabolicResetQuiz.com
And until next time, go out there and achieve more freedom in your health and your life!
