Habits & Goals: Adversaries or Partners?
In our culture, we make a big deal about goals. Setting goals, monitoring goals, achieving goals. Goals can be a great way to keep our eyes on the horizon, to focus our gaze and direction.
Goals also get all the glory.
But do you know what gets little to no recognition as they work quietly, consistently, fastidiously in the background?
Habits.
The things we show up for, every day, whether a good day or a bad day, making progress in inches, or sometimes even just centimeters.
Jame Clear has a great quote around this:
You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
He says systems, I think habits (and I think he would agree).
We certainly don’t have to choose one or the other. In fact, I think that goals without habits are just pipe dreams, and habits without goals are just directionless discipline – but the two together feel like a sturdy sailboat setting a strong course. Things may move and shift us, but we will make progress, bit by bit, toward our destination.
What are the goals and habits you’re using to guide YOUR sailboat?
Photo credit: Laura Hackney from her amazing adventure in Antarctica!