I’ve thought (and experimented) about this for a while and here’s what I came up with:<p>* Goals are better for the short-term (we’re talking days and weeks).<p>* Systems (naturally) are better for the long-term (months and years).<p>* The best way to system-ize something is to make it a habit.<p>* A system without an objective is useless and inefficient.<p>* Which to use ? It depends on your personality AND the task at hand.<p>* Defining an objective is paramount.<p>* Objective =/= goal. An objective is of the highest order, a goal is a part of an objective. E.g. Objective: Lose fat, goal: stop consuming sugar.
The whole idea of ego depletion is controversial and according to this meta-analysis, probably does not exist.<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjso.12236" rel="nofollow">https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/bjso.12236</a>
<i>By the way, it is only in the past few years that you could replace willpower with knowledge about diet and exercise and get a good result. That’s because much of what science told us in those realms was wrong. When I was a kid, science told us to eat plenty of Wonder Bread</i><p>So true. In the UK the government is wringing it’s hands about obesity, introduced a sugar tax but the root cause is simple: it’s what was taught in schools in Home Ec in the 80s and 90s! Eat more bread and potatoes you can never have enough! But never touch fat, and only a little protein! Protein will destroy your kidneys! Basically the exact opposite of what you should do...<p>But rather than learning from that, they’re meddling again...
Great article and very sustainable way to make change. As willpower seems to be a finite resource, substituting knowledge for willpower is a powerful & sustainable strategy for changing habits.
James Clear writes quite a bit about processes over goals, he has some great stuff. <a href="https://jamesclear.com/" rel="nofollow">https://jamesclear.com/</a>
<i>My writing for the Wall Street Journal, along with my public practice on this blog, attracted the attention of book publishers, and that attention turned into a book deal. And the book deal generated speaking requests that are embarrassingly lucrative. So the payday for blogging eventually arrived, but I didn’t know in advance what path it would take. My blogging has kicked up dozens of business opportunities over the past years, so it could have taken any direction.</i><p>I wonder if a cartoon had anything to do with that
Meta: I want to take a minute to thank the community (and likely the mods) for maintaining a healthy discussion on this post in spite of the author's controversial politics. I feel like we should be able to evaluate his other ideas on their merits rather than devolving into a political fight.<p>Thank you.