In the United States, we are very goal oriented. We have annual goals. There are smart goals; revenue goals; and performance goals. There are even big, hairy, audacious goals. We are “goal” obsessed. While there are positives to setting goals — such as creating motivation — there are often times where goals can become a hindrance; they can cause us to focus on one thing while not evaluating how it fits into the broader picture. Additionally, the moment you set a goal, you are living in a state of failure. You want to achieve something, but you haven’t. For some, this could lead to paralysis. For others, once a goal is achieved, old, negative habits could come back. The achievement of a goal only leads to temporary results. The goal leads to a condition that wasn’t sustainable.
Perhaps a better route would be to develop a system — in essence, designing a set of conditions that work harmoniously with all aspects of your life, and that you can easily, without thinking, repeat time and again. Systems-based thinking is a natural part of strategic thought, and in many ways, MEP engineers should be naturally adept at the process, considering that creating construction documents is an exercise in system thinking. But system thinking can be applied not just to engineering, but also to professional development, life and games, to name a few.