Habits vs. Goals: A Look at the Benefits of a Systematic Approach to Life

When seeking to attain success in our lives, rather than concentrating on a specific goal, we would do well to invest our time in forming positive habits.

By switching our focus from achieving specific goals to creating positive long-term habits, we can make continuous improvement a way of life. Even if we backtrack sometimes, we’re pointed in the right direction.

Habits can mean we overshoot our goals. Habits are easy to complete. Habits are for life. Habits can compound. Habits can be as small as necessary.

First off, goals have an endpoint. This is why many people revert to their previous state after achieving a certain goal. People run marathons, then stop exercising altogether.(...) Second, goals rely on factors that we do not always have control over. It’s an unavoidable fact that reaching a goal is not always possible, regardless of effort.(...) ... See more

The difference between habits and goals is not semantic. Each requires different forms of action. For example:Let’s say you want to read more books. You could set the goal to read 50 books by the end of the year, or you could create a habit and decide to always carry a book with you.