Dilbert creator Scott Adams claims that, "Goals are for losers." You may be a little shocked by that claim. Many successful people tout goals as the key to success! 

Also, why am I taking advice from a cartoonist? But before you hit the back button, read on a little. He makes some excellent points.

Here it goes. Goals keep you in a constant state of failure until you achieve — if you achieve. From the day you set the goal until whenever you achieve it, you feel like a (you guessed it) loser. Ok, but imagine you do achieve it. Sure that would feel good. But now what will drive you forward? You have to set a new goal. Otherwise, you have no direction. Once you get on that new goal, you're back mucking in the de-motivational feeling of failure again. It's a vicious cycle.

As an alternative to goals, Adams proposes we focus on systems. People that apply systems, he says, are more likely to succeed. Let's consider some examples. Aiming to lose 10 pounds is a goal. Aiming to eat right is a system. Aiming to run a marathon is a goal, but aiming to exercise daily is a system.

The difference is, if you fail to lose 10 pounds, you're more likely to dump the system. If your aim is to exercise daily and you miss a day, you'll find it easier to apply the system again the next day. 

Now, Adams would surely complain at me, but I have to say this. You see how easy it was for me to use "aim" when talking about systems or goals? I think it's legitimate to call "exercise daily" a goal. Although, perhaps the goal-mafia would insist there be an endpoint to a real goal (which is part of the problem, see below). But even if your aim is to lose 10 pounds, you probably use a system to get you there. "Exercise daily" may in fact be that system. The lines between goals and systems can be blurred easily, and the two are often intertwined. I do admit, though, that "I will lose 10 pounds" cannot be construed as a system 😁.

So, my point of view is that goals and systems are both necessary. Choosing the goal, though, should be done with care. Let's think about that next.

So, goals are frustrating. For example: to lose 10 pounds. But what if you gain 5 muscle pounds and lose 10 fat? Is that a failure? According to your bathroom scale it is! It's a pretty pointless goal.

Another example: to look better in the mirror. This one's probably the toughest. Everybody wants it. But everybody's different.

Let's assume there's a great fitness system out there. Using that same system, one person, call her Jennifer, may only take a few months to "look better." Another person, call him Jeff, may take five years. Is the system bad? Jeff probably feels that way! Should he give up? Maybe Jeff won't give up on the look-better-goal, but he's stalled until he can find a new system. But the problem wasn't the system. It was the goal.

Imagine if Jeff had stuck with it. In just three years, he would have made huge gains in long term health. His risk of diabetes, heart disease, and dementia would be sinking. He would have felt better. He would have been thinking clearer. He would have gotten along better with others. His exercise would be battling against symptoms of ADHD, stress, anxiety, and depression. So what if he wasn't quite ready for Baywatch!

In light of the important benefits of exercise, looking better in the mirror is really a minor feature. You can't stop yourself from wanting to look good in the mirror. But if you want to get there, you have to focus on a different goal. Make this your goal. To still be exercising in 10 years.

Of course, the goal is to exercise for the rest of your life. But 10 years is more concrete. In 10 years, you'll have the same goal.

Now, in 10 years of exercising, chances are you're going to look better in the mirror. Chances are you'll lose some weight. Chances are good that you'll lose the back fat. Maybe you'll even run a marathon. But even if you don't, you'll have a waaaay better life. So get ready to kiss that back fat good bye. For some of us, it'll be a longer goodbye. But a good bye it will be.

What blows my mind as I write this is that it's not just marketing drivel. It's true.

Now, I'm hopeful that you are convinced about what the right goal is. Are you ready for the system? What you'll read in the pages that follow is a system designed to get you there. If you follow this system, you will still be working out in 10 years. You'll have improved your health and reduced the risk of an early death. Chances are you'll just be a happier person.What are you waiting on? Let's go!

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