Goals vs Systems: How to Stop the Yo-Yo Diet Cycle

Nikkiey: That's why people revert back to old habits after they accomplish the goal, and this is a yo-yo effect. The purpose of setting goals, you guys, is to win the game. But the purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.

What's going on, you guys? Welcome to The WarriorBabe Show with Nikkiey Stott, co-founder and brand personality of WarriorBabe, where we talk about mindset, methodologies, and tactics that will help you lose body fat, build muscle, be strong, and feel insanely confident. I am your host, Nikkiey Stott, and welcome to episode number two, all about forgetting about your goals and focusing on your systems instead.

Now, this may be contrary to the whole new year right now, but I want to give you four reasons why you need to just forget about your goals and why you need to put more of your focus on your systems to get those goals instead. And like I just said, I know you're in this resolution goal-setting mode right now, and it's super high, that's super cool. Your goal can be there, but I need you to detach away from it for a second, at least for this podcast, and I'm going to explain why.

So goals are all about the results you want to achieve, you guys. The systems are about the processes that will lead you to those results. So your goal for the new year may be to lose fat, to build muscle, to be more toned, have more definition. Your system is eating right. Your system is tracking the macros if you do that. Your system is consistently doing that weekly. It's drinking your water. It's getting enough sleep. It's developing your workouts and the workout schedule that you're going to commit to. Those are your systems.

So many problems, you guys, arise when you spend way too much time thinking about the goals and not enough time designing and getting better at your systems. And that's what we're going to break down today. Because, look, maybe this is the second week of January, and last week, New Year's Day, you were like, that's it. Everything's going to change this year. I got these big goals. I'm changing my body composition. I'm building more muscle. I'm doing the right things. And then it's the second week of January and you didn't commit to the workout schedule that you set for yourself last week. Or we get to February and you have this goal, but you're still not eating right. You're falling back on old habits. So instead of getting down about not following through on it, it's like, hey, why don't you pay attention to the systems that are going to help you get to that goal rather than paying so much attention to the goal itself?

So I want to break down these four reasons why I want you to forget about the goals and why you should focus on your systems instead.

So number one: winners and losers, you guys, have the same goals. Successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals. You and I have the same goals. People who sign up for programs have the same goals. But why do some win and why do some lose? Why do some get amazing results and others don't? I mean, they're signing up for the same program. They have access to the same thing. So goals can't be what differentiates winners from losers.

Everybody listening to this podcast, you guys have all of the same goals. You're wanting to decrease body fat, build muscle, be more toned, feel more confident within yourself. You have all of these same goals. But there's going to be a percentage of people that follow through with doing what I say to do to get to that goal. Those are the winners. And there's going to be people that fall back into the losers category, where they have all these things that come up and all of these things that are in their way of getting them where they want to be.

So there's winners and losers. You guys have all the same goals. But it's the systems that you implement that make the difference, that make all of the difference. So an example of why winners win is because they do the program consistently where others are inconsistent. Winners go Monday through Sunday. Losers go Monday to Friday and take the weekends off.

So winners take action. They optimize their systems, meaning it's OK to start taking action and fail along the way. But you optimize your system to support yourself, your lifestyle and the achievement of your goals. That's what makes winners winners. They take the action. Winners and losers start taking the same action. But winners are OK with, oh, man, bump in the road, this isn't working for me, I need to optimize my systems to make it a little bit better.

For example, meal prepping. Somebody who wants to meal prep three days a week finds that that's not sufficient enough to support their lifestyle because they're busy. So they optimize for meal prepping one day a week. You see what I mean? And then they optimize to make all these systems work for them, their lifestyle, and getting to the achievement of their goal.

Where losers get submerged by inaction, and then excuses as to why they can't support achieving their goals. So with meal prepping, for example, they start doing three days a week, and they're like, oh, no, I don't have enough time to do this. I'm too busy. I just can't do this.

See where we're shifting with winners and losers? Why winners accomplish it and losers don't? You all have the same goals, but winners are optimizing their systems to support them a little bit better so they can achieve that goal. Losers get submerged by inaction because all these excuses start popping up. I don't have enough time. I'm too busy. But hey, next time, you guys, if you find yourself in that category and you say you're too busy, just tell yourself you're not making it a priority and see how that feels.

Because truthfully, winners want to accomplish this. They make it a priority to accomplish it. Like I shared with you guys in the opening of my last podcast, at one point in my journey, I wanted so bad to achieve the results of building muscle, decreasing body fat, having this physique that I kept seeing all over Instagram. But I also had responsibilities of life. I was in nursing school. I was taking care of my sick grandmother. I was working in an emergency room at a local hospital. But I didn't get submerged by my excuses. I optimized my systems to support me, my lifestyle and everything that I wanted to achieve.

So the next time that you guys say you're too busy, just tell yourself you aren't making it a priority. And then make it a priority if you want to be a winner, because that's what winners do. So that was number one. Winners and losers have the same goals. But let me tell you, they have way different systems, and they optimize those systems. That's what makes them winners.

Number two: achieving a goal is only a momentary change. So right now, you're not happy. You made this resolution goal for yourself because you're not happy with your body. It's New Year's. You find a new plan or you get energy. You're super excited to make a change for now. But if you maintain the same habits of inconsistency, eating bad, not eating enough, fearing carbs because they're going to make you fat, not following through on your workout schedule, the same habits that got you in the unhappy situation to begin with will soon make you unhappy again.

So you're left chasing the same outcome because you never changed the system behind it. You never built the habits that will support your goals. Instead, you stay the same and expect a different outcome. That's that Einstein quote where he says insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again, expecting different results.

You guys can't have these goals and then all of a sudden, come the end of January, find yourself in the same habits that got you into the same place you started in, the same unhappy place. You have to change these habits. You have to break these patterns. So many people think that you have to change the results. But results aren't the problem. What really needs to change are the systems that cause those results.

So, for example, you want to change your body. Your body isn't the problem. What got you to that body is: what or how you ate, whether you do or don't exercise, your sleep schedule, lack of drinking water, not sleeping enough. The list goes on. Those are the systems that cause the body you have. And those systems are what need to change. Is this making sense?

So when you solve problems at a results level, you only solve them temporarily. It's why people yo-yo through different plans and programs, right? They're so focused on the goal. They're so focused on the outcome. And so they start solving for that problem at that level. But it only solves it temporarily. That's why people try all these different things. They yo-yo through different plans. They get to a goal. Then they gain it all back. Then they set off on the same goal, get to the goal, and gain it all back again. Six weeks to change the result, but after the six weeks are up, it all comes back. You know what I mean? You've probably been in this cycle before. And in order to improve for good, you need to solve the problems at the systems level.

So achieving a goal is only a momentary change. You've probably been there before, and then you've gained it all back, like I said. So you have to figure out, OK, your body is not the problem. The problem is the way you're eating, the way you're exercising, the sleep schedule, your lack of drinking water, all of these things. There's so many things that need to be paid attention to. That's what needs to be fixed. And that's what needs to be changed.

Hey, I just want to drop a huge appreciation to you guys listening to the show. It means a lot. I hope you guys are enjoying it, and there's so much more to come. If you are enjoying it, hit the subscribe button. I'd appreciate that tons. And it would also help this podcast reach others who need to hear these messages too. Thanks so much, guys. Let's get back to the show.

So don't just focus on the goal. Again, this whole thing is wrapping up to: you need to focus on the systems that get you to that goal. The goal is a momentary change. Well, let's make it a freaking lifestyle. The only way it's going to become a lifestyle is if you develop the right habits. So you break all these old habits, these old patterns, these old stories you're telling yourself. And you put yourself on the right path of building these new supporting habits to get you to where you want to be.

OK, so that's number two. Number three is goals restrict your happiness. Goals restrict your happiness. And this one's short and sweet and to the point. Everyone thinks, once I reach this goal, I will be happy. Once I have my dream body, I can be happy. Once I lose 50 pounds, I can be happy. Once I see more definition in my arms, I will be happy. Once I lose this bat wing on my tricep, I will be happy. But with that goal mentality, you are continuously putting your happiness off until you reach that goal. That's fucking terrible.

Goals create this either-or effect. You achieve it and you're successful, or you fail and you're disappointed. So I want you to be happy now. You have to develop the systems-first mentality. Systems have to come first, and then your goals. And when you fall in love with the process, by focusing on systems, there's actually way more dopamine that happens within that process than waiting for you to achieve that goal.

You don't have to wait to be happy. You can be happy in the small wins that you make on a daily basis. You got your workout done, and then you got your workout done every day that you said you were going to commit to this week. That's a fucking win. That's huge. That's a system. You tracked all your macros today, if you track macros, and you tracked them for a whole week. That's a freaking win. Right? So develop the systems-first mentality. And then when you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don't have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be happy right now.

So please be happy right now. Be happy. This is the second week of January. You're on your way to bettering your systems, optimizing your systems to get you to where you want to be with the overall result of your goal.

And then number four, the last one. Honestly, I think this one is the most important one: the goal-oriented mind creates the yo-yo effect. I shared this with you guys in the previous podcast, where I achieved the goal and then I gained it all back. And then I went on to set out for that same goal. And I just talked about it a couple minutes ago as well. So the goal-oriented mind creates the yo-yo effect.

Think about runners. This is a good example. Think about runners who work hard for months, but as soon as they cross the finish line, they stop training. This can also go for competitors as well, competitors in any aspect. For me, it was bodybuilding. As soon as I hit the goal and crossed the finish line, I stopped. Or, like I just said, maybe you find yourself in this bucket: those diets online, six weeks and the results stop. Six weeks, you get the goal, and then you stop putting in that effort. The goal is no longer there to motivate you.

When you get the goal, and I'll talk about this in later podcasts, the weeks after getting that goal were literally the hardest thing ever. Because you need to rely on discipline more than the motivation of getting to that goal. And the discipline is what makes you fucking unstoppable. But for those runners, bodybuilding competitors, six weeks to this, the goal is no longer there to motivate you.

So the goal-oriented mindset creates a yo-yo effect. This is why so many people, like I was just speaking to, once they get to the end of the goal, revert back to old habits. For me, when I competed, I gained back those 25 pounds. I reverted back to all of my old habits. Candy was my best friend again at that time. You know what I mean? You probably do too. What's your vice? I don't know. Twinkies? Drinking?

So that's why people revert back to old habits after they accomplish the goal. And this is a yo-yo effect. So the purpose of setting goals, you guys, is to win the game. But the purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.

This is what I mean: in 2018, when I won the OCB Yorton Cup championship, it was like, what are all of my systems that got me here? And how can I continue playing this game of sustainability and being realistic and keeping my body composition the way it is, in a realistic way? Because I told you guys, a stage show body is just not realistic to maintain. But the purpose of building the systems is to continue playing the game. And so from 2018 to 2023 now, I have continued to play the game. And I share this strategy with 10,000 other women inside of the WarriorBabe communities. And we've helped, I mean, geez, millions of people have seen our things. You know what I mean? So the purpose of setting goals is to win the game. But the purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game.

So true long-term thinking is goalless thinking. It's not about any single accomplishment. It's about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Meaning, optimizing your systems to work for you, and work in a way that you can live in a sustainable way.

So if you want better results, you guys, that's the moral of this whole podcast today. If you want better results, and we're only a week into the new year, forget about setting these goals. I mean, you can have them. They're great to have. But don't just focus on them, because it's going to create a yo-yo effect. You're not going to be motivated once it's gone. You're going to restrict your happiness until you can get there. Achieving it is only a momentary change. You've got to remember all the habits you have to change. And you don't want to be a loser. You want to be a winner, right? Anybody that's listening to this podcast better want to be a winner.

So forget about these goals. Don't put all of your focus on them. Focus on your systems instead. Detach away from them and be OK with adapting and changing things up. Like, OK, this is what's going to work for my schedule this week. I can't train six days a week or five days a week. I can only do two or four. Great. That's awesome. Do that. And find what works for you.

That has to be in alignment, though. You have to break the old habits. Eating like shit's not going to get you to your goal. So you have to break that habit. You have to build a better system and put it in place, and you have to implement that system. And all of the systems that you want to be implementing have to be in alignment with who you want to become and the goals you want to accomplish. And I have a great podcast on that topic to come.

But for today, I hope this helps you. I hope this gives you insane value. Something to think about in this new year, at this time when you're thinking about goals. Like, oh my God, I need to really focus on my habits. I need to double down. If I want this, I have to do this. And so focus on making those systems good and then optimizing them to make them better.

All right, guys. If you like this podcast, we're not running any ads on this. This is totally just speaking to you guys, giving you guys value. So if you found value in this podcast today, please share it with a friend who could resonate with it, especially for the new year. And share it on social so that I can see that you guys listened to it today. At Nikkiey Stott, tag me. At WarriorBabe, tag us. And I'll see you guys for episode number three to come. Bye.