James Clear

It feels good for pretty much anybody to win the game or to have the best score on the scoreboard or to climb the leaderboard. And the more that you see yourself occupying a higher rung relative to those around you, whether it's with wealth or money or fame, the better that feels too. And it probably is a spectrum or maybe each of those is a spectrum.

And some people have the dial turned up real high on the status part and maybe lower on the internal measures and other people have it the reverse. But I generally think we all have them to some degree. And you probably will find yourself feeling good if you happen to succeed on either of those metrics.

And some people have the dial turned up real high on the status part and maybe lower on the internal measures and other people have it the reverse. But I generally think we all have them to some degree. And you probably will find yourself feeling good if you happen to succeed on either of those metrics.

First, I should say, this is coming from someone who's been very goal-oriented for most of their life. I would set goals for the grades I wanted to get in school, for the weight I wanted to lift in the gym, for the numbers I wanted my business to hit. And at some point I actually found this sheet that I made my sophomore year of college for the goals that I wanted to hit by the time I graduated.

First, I should say, this is coming from someone who's been very goal-oriented for most of their life. I would set goals for the grades I wanted to get in school, for the weight I wanted to lift in the gym, for the numbers I wanted my business to hit. And at some point I actually found this sheet that I made my sophomore year of college for the goals that I wanted to hit by the time I graduated.

It was funny looking back on it like 10 or 11 years later, because about half of them I hit, the other half I didn't. And I was like, obviously setting the goal was not the thing that made the difference. If it did, I would have hit them all. So something else is going on here. It was like a little remedial training session for myself or something, realizing that goals are not...

It was funny looking back on it like 10 or 11 years later, because about half of them I hit, the other half I didn't. And I was like, obviously setting the goal was not the thing that made the difference. If it did, I would have hit them all. So something else is going on here. It was like a little remedial training session for myself or something, realizing that goals are not...

the primary thing that drives results. And in fact, if you look at the performance in most domains, the winners and the losers have the same goal. Presumably every Formula One driver has the goal of winning the race when they take off from the starting line. If you have a job opening and 100 candidates apply for the job, presumably every candidate has the goal of getting the job.

the primary thing that drives results. And in fact, if you look at the performance in most domains, the winners and the losers have the same goal. Presumably every Formula One driver has the goal of winning the race when they take off from the starting line. If you have a job opening and 100 candidates apply for the job, presumably every candidate has the goal of getting the job.

The goal is not the thing that makes the difference in the performance. And if the winners and the losers have the same goal, it cannot be the distinguishing factor. Maybe it's necessary. Perhaps there's an argument it's necessary for success, but it's not sufficient for it. So that got me thinking more like, well, what is it then that drives it?

The goal is not the thing that makes the difference in the performance. And if the winners and the losers have the same goal, it cannot be the distinguishing factor. Maybe it's necessary. Perhaps there's an argument it's necessary for success, but it's not sufficient for it. So that got me thinking more like, well, what is it then that drives it?

And I, in the book, the way that I describe is the difference between systems and goals. Your goal is your desired outcome, your target, the thing you're shooting for. Your system is the collection of daily habits that you follow. All these little gears in this overall machine.

And I, in the book, the way that I describe is the difference between systems and goals. Your goal is your desired outcome, your target, the thing you're shooting for. Your system is the collection of daily habits that you follow. All these little gears in this overall machine.

And if there's ever a gap between your desired outcome and your daily habits, if there's ever a gap between your goal and your system, your daily habits will always win. Almost by definition, your current habits are perfectly designed for your current results.

And if there's ever a gap between your desired outcome and your daily habits, if there's ever a gap between your goal and your system, your daily habits will always win. Almost by definition, your current habits are perfectly designed for your current results.

So whatever system you've been running for the last six months or year or whatever, you talked about shooting a bow and arrow, presumably whatever system of movements you have going on there, pre-shot routine, how you draw it back, everything. It kind of is inevitably carrying you toward the result of where the arrow ends up. The irony of all of this is we also badly want better results in life.

So whatever system you've been running for the last six months or year or whatever, you talked about shooting a bow and arrow, presumably whatever system of movements you have going on there, pre-shot routine, how you draw it back, everything. It kind of is inevitably carrying you toward the result of where the arrow ends up. The irony of all of this is we also badly want better results in life.

You know, we also badly want to make more money or to reduce stress or lose weight or whatever. but the results are not actually the thing that needs to change. It's kind of like fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.

You know, we also badly want to make more money or to reduce stress or lose weight or whatever. but the results are not actually the thing that needs to change. It's kind of like fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.

There are some areas like shooting a bow where that is, the connection is quite obvious, but there are other areas where for whatever reason, we don't see it as clearly, but I think the pattern is still there, which is let's adjust the habits. Let's get this machine running in a more fluid fashion. And you'll find that the results kind of come naturally.