We all have things that we want to achieve artistically, and for most of us, the path to achieving those things starts by setting a specific goal.

When it comes to actually getting things done and making progress in your work, though, there’s a much better way to get things done.

It comes down to the difference between setting goals and developing a system.

So…

Would you still see results if you completely ignored your goal and focused only on your system?

I think so.  :)

Here are three reasons why…

1.  Goals actually make us unhappy.

When you’re focused on a goal, you’re telling yourself, “I’m not good enough now, and I won’t be good enough until I reach my goal.”

You’ll always be putting off your happiness until the next milestone is reached.

This is especially true of really big goals.

For example, if you want to create your own creature art book, that may seem like a lot to undertake, and the idea of creating hundreds of creature designs for it…  Yikes!

BUT…

You’ll feel less stressed (and still make progress) if you commit to a process, not a goal.

Keep things simple and focus on the day to day habit.  Commit to sketching or sculpting one rough creature concept a day, and in one year, you’ll have 365 creature concepts!

2. Goals hurt our long-term progress.

You might think that having a big goal keeps you motivated, but that’s not necessarily true.

If you rely on your goal for motivation, then you have nothing to keep pushing you forward once it’s achieved.

This leads to a lot of downtime between goals, which slows down any long-term progress you could be making.

BUT…

You’ll make more long-term progress if you let go of goal-based motivation and focus on sticking to your system.

If you set a goal for yourself and you don’t reach it, you’ll feel like a failure, but if you stick with your system and put in the work every day, you’ll end up achieving more in the end!

3.  Goals make us think we can predict the future.

...but obviously we can’t.

Anytime you set a goal, you’re trying to predict how and when you’ll achieve that goal.

So when life throws you a curveball (which is pretty much guaranteed to happen) you get knocked off track and you lose momentum.

BUT…

You’ll be able to maintain momentum without feeling the pressure to keep track of everything if you include daily logging or feedback as part of your system.

Small regular recording, like keeping track of how much you sculpt each day or which new techniques you learn, requires very little extra effort and can have a huge impact overall.

Check your notes every week or so, and you’ll be able to recognize when you need to make adjustments to your routine without really having to think about it too much.

Remember, what helps you progress right now won’t necessarily help you progress a few months from now, especially if you stick to your system and keep growing!