There’s a line James Clear wrote that I come back to often:
We don’t rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems.
It sounds obvious until you actually sit with it.
We’ve been talking a lot about goals this time of year, but goals are the easy part. They’re words. Lists. Intentions. What actually decides how your year goes is what your life defaults to when you’re busy, tired, distracted, or overwhelmed.
Even Aristotle was circling the same idea centuries ago. What’s often quoted as “we are what we repeatedly do” isn’t a direct line from him, but a summary of his thinking in Nicomachean Ethics. His point was simple: character isn’t built in moments of intention, it’s built through repeated action. Through habits. Through what you do most days without thinking.
Because motivation comes and goes.
Systems are what carry the year when it does.
THE ONE INSIGHT
Goals don’t usually fail because you stop caring about them.
They fail when they collide with real life.
Long days. Low energy. Bad sleep. Too many decisions to make.
That’s the moment motivation quietly disappears, and whatever you’ve built underneath has to carry you.
That’s what systems really are.
They’re not complicated. They’re just what you do without thinking.
What happens on a normal Tuesday?
What you fall back on when you’re tired, rushed, or distracted.
If a goal needs constant willpower, it’s on borrowed time.
If it’s supported by a system, it has a chance to survive.
That’s why two people can want the same thing and end up in completely different places.
One is pushing themselves every day.
The other has set their life up so following through is easier.
It’s not about wanting it more.
It’s about making it easier to keep going.
THE ACTION STEP
Let’s make this real. Pick one goal you set last week. Just one.
Now do this.
1. Look at what actually happens now.
Not what you intend to do. What you actually do.
On a tired day. On a busy day. On a “can’t be bothered” day.
Be honest. That’s your current system.
2. Ask one blunt question:
“What is making this harder than it needs to be?”
Too many decisions?
Wrong timing?
Relying on energy you don’t always have?
Don’t fix everything. Just name the biggest friction.
3. Change the setup, not yourself.
Instead of saying “I’ll try harder,” do one small thing that makes the right action easier.
Examples:
If you want to exercise, pick when and where once. Not every day.
If you want to save money, automate it so you don’t have to decide.
If you want earlier nights, choose a shutdown time, not a bedtime.
Make it boring. Boring works.
4. Test it on a bad day.
Ask yourself:
“Would this still happen if I was tired, stressed, or in a bad mood?”
If the answer is no, simplify again.
You’re not failing because you lack discipline.
You’re just asking your life to do something it’s not set up to support yet.
Fix the setup.
The behaviour will follow.
My latest project…
A few weeks ago, I shared a short book about my weight loss and health journey, and the identity shift that made it possible.
Not the routines or the rules, but the internal changes that had to happen for me to stop cycling and start moving forward. I’m mentioning it here for anyone new, or anyone who wants to understand the deeper work behind sustainable change.
You can find it here if you want to read more.
Before You Go
I’ve been writing these pieces in the quiet, between school runs, work, and late-night thinking, but I’ve started sharing more of the journey in real time too. The reflections, the systems, the messier parts of reinvention that never make it into the newsletter.
If you want to follow along, you’ll find me here:
Come say hi. It’s less about followers, more about finding the others who are doing the invisible work too.
If something in this email made you pause, think, or feel seen, send it to a friend who’s been quietly trying to make a change, too.
You never know what might land at the right moment. Link here.
“What you do when you’re tired decides more than what you plan when you’re motivated.”