PL 101: Systems vs. Goals (Discussion 4)
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Hello Leadership Crew!
Welcome to our 4th discussion in this first course. In todays discussion, we will be talking about systems vs. goals.
To start, please read this post here  and watch this video.
The basic argument here is that having a system is better than having a goal. A system is a way of behaving that helps you move towards accomplishing something. A goal is usually and end state that happens after you have accomplished something. I think eating healthy is a good example. A goal might be to lose 10 pounds. In this case, you feel kind of bad about yourself until you hit that goal; and then, once you hit it, you kind of lose the purpose because the goal has been reached. If you relapse and gain wait again, then you fall back into feeling bad about yourself again. Contrast this with a system of eating healthy. A system might include things like: having a big glass of water prior to each meal; eating a lot of fruits, vegetables, and nuts; not eating after 9pm; and/or doing some level of intermittent fasting. You wouldnt integrate all of these new healthy eating behaviors at once. Instead, youd gradually introduce one and then another and then another over whatever period of time makes sense. The system enables you to continuously get healthier and healthier. You will eventually reach the goal, but itll be the byproduct of eating healthy.
Another example might be education. I dont really care all that much about grades for my kids. I mostly want them to learn and enjoy learning. We talk about what they learn, we draw things, they make their own educational videos, they explain things to me in their own words etc. I want them to have a system of learning and refining their perspective on things. If they have this system, then having good grades will be a natural result of enjoying learning.
This also has implications for 7 Cups as well. We might have goals of having a certain amount of group support messages or 1:1 messages. Those are fine goals to have, but we mostly want to create a system of support where people care for one another and then the natural result is an increased number of messages. Or, zooming back, think about this leadership development program. We could have an arbitrary goal of training a certain number of new leaders to serve our community; or we can co-create a system - this leadership development program - that helps people become leaders. The natural consequence of the program will be a higher number of trained, competent, and strong leaders that can better support our community. Â
What is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed? What are 3 behaviors you can implement to help you gradually grow that new system in your life?
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@Glen
1. A key system I would like to set is to keep working staying healthy towards anything despite circumstances that I do in my life.
2. Three behaviours I can implement to help myself to gradually grow in new system in my life would be
setting time calendars
I think it will help me in long long run because it will cover a lot of stuff that I am missing out in between.
Commitment
I'm not a big fan commitment . I don't want it to hinder my growth because I am missing out stuff because of it.
Being patient
Taking it easy will really help me, not to take things seriously ,one step at a time , its going to be okay .
@nessa104
I can relate, good behaviours to follow. I have to work on being patient. At times I want a change now because I can't handle what is going on in my life currently. I also have to work on commitment, for me, I tend to start something and somewhere along the line, I just stop. I have goals that I want to achieve and it really takes time and consistency.
@GlenM
The system that I want to set up for myself is not to stress myself out and compare what I’m doing to what others are doing. At times, I find myself feeling stressed because I feel like my peers who are pursuing the same field as me as doing so much more than what I am doing. If I stop stressing out about this, I will be able to focus more on myself and my personal growth. The three behaviors I can implement to help myself grow that system in my life is that I should stop looking at what they are doing. Sometimes when I’m on LinkedIn, I will come across my peers and then I start reading what they have been doing so far. So I should stop myself from reading, in other words, get off the app when I feel like I’m about to compare myself to them. The second thing I will do is to direct my energy, find something to do that would make me feel relaxed like watching a movie or listening to music. The third thing I would do is put that time into speaking with listeners on the platform.
@NoelleListensI
OMG, I can relate with you @noellelistens. For me I haven't got a job in the field I have studied for, and at times it has me questioning if I have chosen the field that is right for me. I do stress out at times, especially if I realize I have a lot of work to do, my mind is like a track record, trying to process how much I can do in the day. I do be on LinkedIn, not too long and sometimes when I see others in the field get promoted to a higher job position, it does get to me sometimes. This I am working on, well trying.
The key system I have set up is that I write down how I’m feeling at a certain time and what I’m doing at that time so that I know and can go back to where and what I was doing to know how to proceed with my feelings in the future when it comes up again.
The three behaviors that I can implement are having my stuff in reach where I can quickly journal, take time out of my day to do deep breathing exercises, and getting on a sleep schedule that works with my job and life to help myself and the members here on 7Cups.
@GlenMWhat is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed? What are 3 behaviors you can implement to help you gradually grow that new system in your life?
@GlenM
What is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed? What are 3 behaviors you can implement to help you gradually grow that new system in your life?
The Key system that I need to set up in my life to help me succeed is to give up emotional over-eating. I need to take small steps to make myself emotionally more strong so that whenever I feel low, bored, or anxious, I won't go for the emotional over-eating.
3 behaviours that I can implement to help me grow that new system is:
- Socialization: I need to socialize so that I would be able to find other ways to express my feelings of anxiousness and get over it instead of using food as a coping mechanism.
- Exercising: It would give me confidence and I would be able to feel strong and in control of myself.
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Expressing emotions: Suppressing negative emotions i.e, anger and sadness make an individual feel helpless and that person loses motivation for things. Expressing these emotions in an acceptable way is necessary to grow and gain control.
@Zarram77
I feel your struggle, but your examples are really well! I think you are definitely on a good way. I wish you all the best! 💜
@GlenM
What is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed?
A key system that I need to set up in my life to succeed, is by taking ACTION. It is easy to verbalize and state, I want to do xx and if I am not doing anything about it, the work will not be completed. So one of the key systems is to work on doing the necessities of acquiring a new job/career path.
@GlenM
The key is I need to fall in love with systems and focus on and implement that instead. Goals are difficult and fallible as well. To have a system also demands more discipline towards the outcome.
I will focus on having a system in place for my physical health, mental health as well as emotional health and then further try to implement this mindset on the rest.
@GlenM
The key System that i would like to inculcate in my life to get better results is to make a routine and follow it till i see success. I would then may be tweak the system as my progress went from there.
The three things that i would like to improve with this system is that i would like to improve my cyclic thinking about anything and everything that i do (You may also call it an obsession), Hence my addictions. I get addicted to things very soon. I do too much I keep thinking about my work all the time.
I would like to learn to know when to let go, I would like to have variety in life a little something which is not my work or where i am not pushed to perform.
I would love to learn how to lose control sometime. I don’t like to lose control at all. That’s probably why people like me in admin jobs where i am constantly on concentration or trying to control every aspect of my job.
What is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed?
I need to find a way to maintain consistency. I often don't have an issue beginning a system, but that can often get lost in the lofty perspective of the entire goal, and then I give up.
What are 3 behaviors you can implement to help you gradually grow that new system in your life?
a) plan out my day
b) find a period where I can drop technology
c) positive thinking
@Dan76
I really like your new system! I have trouble maintaining consistency too but I like your behaviours :)
@GlenM
What is a key system that you need to set up in your life to help you succeed?
A Key system that I am interested in implementing in my life, to help me succeed, is.. (Off of this certain set of resources) Is not focusing on a specific goal, but rather focusing on building myself up healthily, mentally/physically/emotionally/financially/ and spiritually, Daily! Rather than trying to make a long-term/short-term goal with no system to get there and no plan afterwards. So basically just a "Routine" for lack of better word that can build myself up and over time evolve into a more fitting routine as I grow. ie: Fixing 2000 computers this year? Or increasing productivity and efficiency fixing them.
What are 3 behaviors you can implement to help you gradually grow that new system in your life?
Attitude is everything, if you feel it, you think it, if you think it , you do it. So that being said. This is my own perspective, but Watching what goes into your eyes ears and heart. The content you browse or watch, the music you listen to can have a huge influence on your attitude which in turn becomes actions.
Improving what goes into my state of mind, attitude, and surroundings.
Self control as in staying focused on my tasks at hand, no so much goals per say, but "systems" and staying dedicated to them, Whatever they may be.
The final behavior I think would behoove or benefit myself in future systems and trying to stay cool calm and collected while making decisions. Of course that's a given but as being a goal. The system to get there is to remain calm under any given stress in the near future and build a skill that won't disperse or "poof" after the goal is reached.
They say, You are the product of the 3 people you hang around the most. That is true, but you're also the product of what you choose to look at, listen to, and be around.
I love your point about what we consume affecting our mental states and perception. I've realised this too and find that sometimes a change in book genre or tv can really lift my mindset.