Three Systems of Goal-Setting
Match each goal to an objective, progress or system frame
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Time to result
- ~weeks to results
- Steps
- 5
- Confidence
- 86%
Kagan observed three distinct systems of goal-setting, each suited to a different situation. An objective (or object-oriented) goal has a fixed destination — a million subscribers, a revenue target — useful in business where you must know if you will 'reach Mexico'. A progress goal cares only about direction: is the number moving the right way, regardless of magnitude. A system goal specifies a repeatable behaviour — 'go to the gym three times a week' — with no outcome number at all. The mechanism is fit: applying an objective goal to a passion (like a subscriber count) can kill motivation, while a system goal keeps you consistent without pressure. Crucially, every goal 'has to matter to you'; the real work is figuring out what you actually want, because 'it's really hard to know what you want but it's really easy to get it when you know it.'
Origin
Extracted from Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal. Kagan distilled these three goal types from watching which goals fuelled his ventures and which — like his 100,000-downloads podcast target — killed his motivation.
Core principles
- 01Different pursuits need different kinds of goals
- 02A goal must genuinely matter to you or it will backfire
- 03Objective goals suit business; system goals suit passions
- 04The hard part is knowing what you actually want
How to run it
- 1
Clarify what you actually want
Spend real time — journaling, thinking, talking — deciding what you genuinely want before naming any target.
Pro tip It's easy to get what you want but hard to know what you want; invest in the knowing.
- 2
Set an objective goal for destinations
When hitting a specific number matters, define a concrete target like revenue or subscriber count.
Pro tip Best for business, where you need to know how you are performing.
- 3
Set a progress goal for direction
When magnitude does not matter, track only whether the metric is moving forward.
Pro tip Five new subscribers or a thousand — if it's positive, you win.
- 4
Set a system goal for consistency
When the behaviour is the point, commit to a repeatable action with no outcome number.
Pro tip e.g. publish two videos a week, or train three times a week.
- 5
Match the frame to the pursuit
Deliberately choose which of the three fits each goal, especially avoiding hard numbers on passion work.
Watch out A numeric target on something you do for joy can kill the motivation entirely.
In the wild
Kagan set an objective goal of 100,000 downloads per episode for his new podcast. He hit 30,000 by year end — a genuinely strong show — but felt like a failure and quit. Nine months later he restarted with a system goal: 'just put out one episode that you love a week.' Now at 10,000 downloads he no longer checks his stats and loves doing the show.
→ Switching from an objective goal to a system goal restored his motivation and enjoyment.
Common mistakes
Numbering your passions
Attaching an objective target to a joy-driven project, like a subscriber count, tends to kill the motivation that sustained it.
Setting goals before knowing what you want
A goal only works if it genuinely matters to you; skipping the clarity step produces arbitrary numbers you cannot commit to.
Is it for you?
Best for
Founders and creators juggling business targets alongside passion projects.
Not ideal for
People who have not yet clarified what they actually want.
From the transcript
“i've observed three systems of setting goals ... the object oriented goal ... progress goals ... the system goal”
“it's really hard to know what you want but it's really easy to get it when you know it”
From the episode
Bonus Episode: How To Build Career Momentum with Noah Kagan
Noah Kagan