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###### [Image source](https://www.pexels.com/photo/blur-bicycle-speed-bicyclist-15765/)
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Often, when we set out to achieve a goal, we fall flat on our faces. 

We put in the work and we try the best we can, but we are ridiculously impatient. We expect results fast. Sometimes, we wait for days and weeks and even months, but to no avail.

There are too many factors at play - the client didn’t like your pitch, your blog post didn’t go viral this time, your photograph didn’t wow viewers.

You gave it your all but the result wasn’t there. You feel discouraged. You feel pissed off. Is there a better way?

# Screw Goals, Use Systems

*Dilbert* creator, Scott Adams has a very famous concept called [Goals VS Systems](http://blog.dilbert.com/2013/11/18/goals-vs-systems/).

He says that when you aim for goals, you set your sights a little too narrowly.

He gives the example of exercising. He writes:

> Going to the gym 3-4 times a week is a goal. And it can be a hard one to accomplish for people who don’t enjoy exercise. Exercising 3-4 times a week can feel like punishment – especially if you overdo it because you’re impatient to get results.  When you associate discomfort with exercise you inadvertently train yourself to stop doing it. Eventually you will find yourself “too busy” to keep up your 3-4 days of exercise. The real reason will be because it just hurts and you don’t want to do it anymore. And if you do manage to stay with your goal, you use up your limited supply of willpower.

> Compare the goal of exercising 3-4 times a week with a **system of being active every day at a level that feels good, while continuously learning about the best methods of exercise.** Before long your body will be trained, like Pavlov’s dogs, to crave the psychological lift you get from being active every day. It will soon become easier to exercise than to skip it – no willpower required. And your natural inclination for challenge and variety will gently nudge you toward higher levels of daily activity while at the same time you are learning in your spare time how to exercise in the most effective way. That’s a system.

In the method of using a system, one cares more about the *process* of getting there than just getting there.

# Make The Process Your Second Love (After Your Spouse)

Social media mogul, Gary Vaynerchuk often says:

<div class="pull-left">https://i.pinimg.com/736x/59/f2/92/59f292117f3f6e830b21e879996ecfc1.jpg</div>

**"If you love the process, you already won.”**

Put it another way:

**“If you are not in love with the process, you’ve already lost.”**

If you care too much about the result, and forgo the fun that is the process, you will give up the soonest when nothing goes your way.

You can’t just love it when it’s convenient.

As Quest Nutrition co-founder, Tom Bilyeu says when it comes to finding your passion:

**What would you do everyday even if you were *failing*?**

What would you love to do so much that failure won’t slow you down?

In other words, the process **is** the reward in and of itself.

# Then, What is Success If Results Should Be Out of the Picture?

As billionaire Mark Cuban would say: 

*The one thing you can control in your life is your effort.*

Of course, you may say that this is an easy escape to not be results driven, this isn't. I'm all for results.

When you persist on a strategy for a long time and the market clearly doesn't respond, it's time to change strategies.

This post is for the ones who are on the right track but are clearly disheartened by their failed attempts. Learning to not let failures define you is crucial to getting to where you want to go. 

The best way to deal with failure is treat life like a series of experiments. If your hypothesis is wrong, go back, tweak the variables and test again until you get the outcome you want.

Besides being a scientist, there is another mindset to have which we all learn from our parents when young:

*"As long as you did your best, you have nothing to regret."*

And legendary basketball coach John Wooden would concur:

*“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable.”*

Or as I would paraphrase it:

**“Success is peace of mind knowing you did your best.”**

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###### [Image source](https://www.pinterest.com/marissapattan/gary-vee-quotes-wallpapers/) for Gary Vaynerchuk.
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