Now for the interesting question: If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still succeed?For example, if you were a basketball coach and you ignored your goal to win a championship and focused only on what your team does at practice each day, would you still get results?I think you would.The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard.The only way to actually win is to get better each day.In the words of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh, “The score takes care of itself.”The same is true for other areas of life.If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
What do I mean by this? Are goals completely useless? Of course not.Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.A handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.
Goal setting suffers from a serious case of survivorship bias.We concentrate on the people who end up winning—the survivors—and mistakenly assume that ambitious goals led to their success while overlooking all of the people who had the same objective but didn’t succeed.Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.It wasn’t the goal of winning the Tour de France that propelled the British cyclists to the top of the sport. Presumably, they had wanted to win the race every year before—just like every other professional team. The goal had always been there. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.
Now for the interesting question: If you completely ignored your goals and focused only on your system, would you still succeed?
现在是个有趣的问题：如果你完全忽视目标，只专注于你的系统，你还会成功吗？
Interesting[ˈɪntrəstɪŋ]
有趣的
Ex: That’s an interesting question.
例句翻译：那是一个有趣的问题。
Ignore[ɪɡˈnɔːr]
忽视
Ex: She ignored the warning signs.
例句翻译：她忽视了警告标志。
Focus on[ˈfəʊkəs ɒn]
专注于
Ex: He needs to focus on his studies.
例句翻译：他需要专注于学习。
System[ˈsɪstəm]
系统
Ex: A successful business needs a good system.
例句翻译：一个成功的企业需要一个好的系统。
Succeed[səkˈsiːd]
成功
Ex: She worked hard to succeed in her career.
例句翻译：她努力工作，在事业上取得了成功。
For example, if you were a basketball coach and you ignored your goal to win a championship and focused only on what your team does at practice each day, would you still get results?
例如，如果你是篮球教练，忽视赢得冠军的目标，只专注于每天训练中队员们的表现，你还会取得结果吗？
Example[ɪɡˈzɑːmpl]
例子
Ex: Here’s an example of how the system works.
例句翻译：这里有一个系统如何运作的例子。
Basketball coach[ˈbɑːskɪtbɔːl koʊtʃ]
篮球教练
Ex: The basketball coach taught the players new techniques.
例句翻译：篮球教练教球员们新技巧。
Ignore[ɪɡˈnɔːr]
忽视
Ex: The teacher ignored the student’s request.
例句翻译：老师忽视了学生的请求。
Goal[ɡoʊl]
目标
Ex: Her goal is to run a marathon.
例句翻译：她的目标是跑马拉松。
Results[rɪˈzʌlts]
结果
Ex: The results of the test were published last week.
例句翻译：考试结果上周发布。
I think you would.
我认为你会。
Think[θɪŋk]
认为
Ex: I think it’s going to rain today.
例句翻译：我认为今天会下雨。
Would[wʊd]
会
Ex: I would help you if I could.
例句翻译：如果我能帮忙，我会帮助你。
The goal in any sport is to finish with the best score, but it would be ridiculous to spend the whole game staring at the scoreboard.
任何运动中的目标都是以最佳成绩完成比赛，但整场比赛都盯着记分牌看是荒谬的。
Goal[ɡoʊl]
目标
Ex: The goal of the team is to win the tournament.
例句翻译：团队的目标是赢得比赛。
Ridiculous[rɪˈdɪkjʊləs]
荒谬的
Ex: It’s ridiculous to think you can learn a language in a week.
例句翻译：认为一周就能学会一门语言是荒谬的。
Staring at[ˈsterɪŋ æt]
盯着看
Ex: Stop staring at your phone during the meeting.
例句翻译：开会时别盯着手机看。
The only way to actually win is to get better each day.
实际上，赢得比赛的唯一方法是每天变得更好。
Only way[ˈoʊnli weɪ]
唯一的方法
Ex: The only way to succeed is through hard work.
例句翻译：成功的唯一方法是通过努力工作。
Actually[ˈæktʃuəli]
实际上
Ex: I didn’t actually expect to win the race.
例句翻译：我实际上并没有期待赢得比赛。
Win[wɪn]
赢
Ex: He won the championship after a long season.
例句翻译：经过一个漫长的赛季，他赢得了冠军。
In the words of three-time Super Bowl winner Bill Walsh, “The score takes care of itself.”
三次超级碗冠军得主比尔·沃尔什说：“分数自会解决。”
In the words of[ɪn ðə wɜːrdz ʌv]
用……的话来说
Ex: In the words of my teacher, “Practice makes perfect.”
例句翻译：用我老师的话来说，“熟能生巧。”
Three-time Super Bowl winner[θriː taɪm ˈsuːpər boʊl ˈwɪnər]
三次超级碗冠军得主
Ex: Tom Brady is a seven-time Super Bowl winner.
例句翻译：汤姆·布雷迪是七次超级碗冠军得主。
The score takes care of itself[ðə skɔːr teɪks keəʳ ʌv ɪtˈself]
分数自会解决
Ex: Focus on improving your game, and the score will take care of itself.
例句翻译：专注于提升你的比赛，分数自会解决。
The same is true for other areas of life.
在生活的其他领域也是如此。
The same is true[ðə seɪm ɪz truː]
同样的道理适用于
Ex: The same is true for learning a language.
例句翻译：学习语言也是如此。
Other areas of life[ˈʌðər ˈɛərɪəz ʌv laɪf]
生活的其他领域
Ex: Health, relationships, and work are just a few areas of life that require balance.
例句翻译：健康、关系和工作是生活中需要平衡的几个领域。
If you want better results, then forget about setting goals. Focus on your system instead.
如果你想要更好的结果，那就忘掉设定目标，专注于你的系统。
Better results[ˈbɛtər rɪˈzʌlts]
更好的结果
Ex: With more practice, you will see better results.
例句翻译：通过更多的练习，你会看到更好的结果。
Forget about[fərˈɡɛt əˈbaʊt]
忘掉
Ex: Forget about the past, focus on the future.
例句翻译：忘掉过去，专注于未来。
Focus on[ˈfəʊkəs ɒn]
专注于
Ex: Focus on improving your skills, not just on winning.
例句翻译：专注于提升技能，而不仅仅是赢得比赛。
What do I mean by this? Are goals completely useless? Of course not.
我是什么意思呢？目标完全没用吗？当然不是。
What do I mean by this?[wʌt du aɪ miːn baɪ ðɪs]
我是什么意思？
Ex: What do you mean by that?
例句翻译：你是什么意思？
Completely useless[kəmˈpliːtli ˈjuːsləs]
完全没用
Ex: The idea seemed completely useless at first.
例句翻译：这个想法一开始看起来完全没用。
Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.
目标有助于设定方向，但系统才是进步的最佳途径。
Setting a direction[ˈsɛtɪŋ ə dəˈrɛkʃən]
设定方向
Ex: Setting a direction is the first step in achieving your goal.
例句翻译：设定方向是实现目标的第一步。
Making progress[ˈmeɪkɪŋ ˈprəʊɡres]
取得进展
Ex: She made a lot of progress on her project.
例句翻译：她在项目上取得了很大的进展。
A handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.
当你花太多时间思考目标，而没有足够时间设计你的系统时，会出现一些问题。
A handful of[ə ˈhændfʊl ʌv]
少数的
Ex: A handful of people attended the event.
例句翻译：少数人参加了活动。
Designing your systems[dɪˈzaɪnɪŋ jʊər ˈsɪstəmz]
设计你的系统
Ex: Designing your system for success requires focus and planning.
例句翻译：设计成功的系统需要专注和规划。
Goal setting suffers from a serious case of survivorship bias.
目标设定存在一个严重的幸存者偏差问题。
Goal setting[ɡoʊl ˈsɛtɪŋ]
目标设定
Ex: Goal setting is an essential part of achieving success.
例句翻译：目标设定是实现成功的关键部分。
Survivorship bias[səˈvaɪvərʃɪp baɪəs]
幸存者偏差
Ex: Survivorship bias can lead us to make inaccurate conclusions about what leads to success.
例句翻译：幸存者偏差会导致我们对什么因素促成成功得出不准确的结论。
We concentrate on the people who end up winning—the survivors—and mistakenly assume that ambitious goals led to their success while overlooking all of the people who had the same objective but didn’t succeed.
Ex: We should concentrate on solving the most pressing issues first.
例句翻译：我们应该首先集中精力解决最紧迫的问题。
End up winning[ɛnd ʌp ˈwɪnɪŋ]
最终获胜
Ex: After a long and hard journey, they ended up winning the championship.
例句翻译：经过漫长而艰苦的旅程，他们最终赢得了冠军。
Mistakenly assume[mɪˈsteɪkənli əˈsuːm]
错误地假设
Ex: He mistakenly assumed that everyone shared his point of view.
例句翻译：他错误地假设每个人都和他有相同的观点。
Overlooking[ˈəʊvərˌlʊkɪŋ]
忽视
Ex: We should avoid overlooking the minor details.
例句翻译：我们应该避免忽视那些微小的细节。
Every Olympian wants to win a gold medal. Every candidate wants to get the job. And if successful and unsuccessful people share the same goals, then the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers.
Ex: Every Olympian dreams of winning a gold medal.
例句翻译：每位奥运选手都梦想着赢得金牌。
Differentiate[ˌdɪfəˈrɛnʃieɪt]
区分
Ex: What differentiates successful businesses from others?
例句翻译：成功的企业和其他企业的区别是什么？
It wasn’t the goal of winning the Tour de France that propelled the British cyclists to the top of the sport. Presumably, they had wanted to win the race every year before—just like every other professional team. The goal had always been there. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.