The goal of an effective system is identity change. The system you put in place today will make you the person you want to be in the future.
If you’ve already implemented my 5-day personal finance system you’ve set yourself on the path for financial success for the rest of your life in less than 5 days.
We can do this for any other area of our lives by building a system and following it.
Why Systems Work
A system is a set of tasks we perform to move us in the direction of our goals. Behavior becomes progressively more automatic through repetition. The more repetition the more the structure of our brain changes to become efficient at that activity.
These brain structures called neurons transmit messages from the brain the the rest of the body. The first time you perform a task you are forming new pathways in your brain. This is why many time we try something new we stumble through it and it takes a long time to accomplish that task. However as we’ve experienced, the longer we perform a task the more competent we become and the easier it becomes.
The connections between neurons strengthen based on recent patterns of activity, this is called long-term potentiation.
Neurons that fire together wire together (also known as Hebbs Law).
Focus on The 1%
Wouldn’t it be great if life had an experience meter? If we wanted to become a better runner how are we supposed to measure getting 1% better every day?
Thankfully massive success doesn’t require massive action. Becoming 1% better is simply comes down to one thing: practice.
We achieve our 1% by committing to practice every single day. It doesn’t matter if we start off walking fast for 5 minutes instead of sprinting. The goal at the beginning is to focus on producing and setting a habit in place before cranking up the intensity of the system. Our efforts over time will compound into a major shift from who we are to who we want to be over time.
The Compound Effect
Any given day focusing on the system won’t feel like we’re moving the needle.
It’s like skipping brushing your teeth.
The worst that can happen if you skip once is wicked bad breath for a while but that can be corrected once you brush again.
If neglecting your oral health becomes your system it can lead to tooth decay, cavities, & some pretty expensive oral surgeries.
The honoring of that process leads to a great smile. Dishonoring that process leads to gum disease and dentures at an early age.
Don’t focus on metrics, focus on producing. Most of the time metrics are outside of our control. What we can control is honoring the system.
Focus on building the most relevant skills that will yield the desired results.
The systems we perform on a daily basis have the potential to change our brain chemistry for better or worse. This is why we must design our own personalized systems to we can become who we’re meant to become.
If neglecting your oral health becomes your system it can lead to tooth decay, cavities, & some pretty expensive oral surgeries.
The honoring of that process leads to a great smile.