I’ve had this book on my TBR for a long long time. And I just never reached for it honestly because I was afraid that it was going to give me anxiety about things that I want to do or that I should do that I don’t do. I do not need that kind of negativity in my life. What I should’ve realized is that, well, backstory…this book is a favorite of a guy I know who used to be a pastor. And he is very deliberate, and detailed, and structurally-oriented, and particular about things. And, if you know me, you know that I am also that way. And he loves this book. Loooooooooooooves it. He mentioned it in at least one sermon, probably based an entire sermon series on it. I can’t actually remember, but believe me when I say it’s absolutely possible that he did so.
Anyway, that alone should’ve convinced me that I was not going to be stressed by this book, that it was going to make sense to me. That it was going to be rational, and reasonable, and have theories that made absolute sense to my very, very logical brain. Very early on in the book it says, “you don’t need a goal, you need a system.” Wow! That’s speaking my language! Systems are my lobster! I eat, breathe, and sleep systems. I can make a system out of anything. And what is most ridiculous is that I’ve always been confounded by goals. I’ve always thought, “What is a goal? How do I get to a goal? I don’t even know what I would want to be a goal.”
When I read that you need a system, not a goal, It was like a huge lightbulb went on in my brain and I was a floored that I had never thought of this on my own. As you’re probably guessing by now, I really, really liked this book. It makes more sense than practically anything else I’ve ever heard in my life on the subject of accomplishing things.
If you know anything about Strength Finders, you should know that this book, if you are high in Discipline, if you are high in Maximizer, if you are high in Consistency, has the potential to absolutely change your life and the way that you think about succeeding with the things that you want to .
Spoiler alert, my number one in Strength Finders is Discipline, my number three is Consistency, and my number five is Maximizer. The pastor I mentioned also has Discipline in his top five.
Bottom line, if you’re struggle with making goals, and they seem abstract, and hard to reach, and impossible to plan for and like some pie-in-the- sky dream you’ll never achieve, then James Clear is your man.