Are they designed for success or frustration?

I was listening to a great podcast interview today with James Clear, author of Atomic Habits. His quote (above) struck me. Often, we are able to create a beautiful vision of where we would like to be and of the habits and behaviors that we would love to implement in our lives. We try to implement them for a while, riding high on our excitement and our desire to create this new path for ourselves. Soon enough, the grind gets us. We experience resistance, friction, and frustration. We slide back into our old ways and then, worst of all, we pile shame and blame upon ourselves. Ugh. This beautiful vision becomes a point of embarrassment and sadness.

But, it’s not YOU. There is nothing wrong with you, ya lovely, wonderful human. Our brains are wired to take the path of familiarity and least resistance! (In fact, it’s a survival mechanism that is often quite helpful to us.) But, when the systems we set up to head in the direction of our dreams are not optimized, friction is created and the brain rebels. Our dreams become a drain instead of an inspiration.

If we want to make our dreams a reality, if we want to rise up to the level of our goals, then we must learn to create systems that help us flow with the divine spark of motivation and inspiration within us. We don’t just execute a goal, we must create a supportive, sustaining ecosystem around it.

This year, do not simply create goals for yourself and force them into your life. Instead, adapt your systems to protect and promote the things you hope to manifest. Create flow. Design for ease and joy. Let the currents of your dreams run unimpeded.

What are your systems for success?