I am a Scott Adams fan, which may make you wrinkle your forehead. First, let’s get the elephant out of the room. Please do not believe the media about him. He is controversial but that is how he made his money with Dilbert. Second, if you live life in soundbites, you are missing the context of things. Third, he has some great wisdom to share. His book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big is awesome. I love when he talks about systems vs. goals.

If you do something every day, it’s a system. If you’re waiting to achieve it someday in the future, it’s a goal.

[O]ne should have a system instead of a goal. The system-versus-goals model can be applied to most human endeavours. In the world of dieting, losing twenty pounds is a goal, but eating right is a system. In the exercise realm, running a marathon in under four hours is a goal, but exercising daily is a system. In business, making a million dollars is a goal, but being a serial entrepreneur is a system.

Goal-oriented people exist in a state of continuous pre-success failure at best, and permanent failure at worst if things never work out. Systems people succeed every time they apply their systems, in the sense that they did what they intended to do. The goals people are fighting the feeling of discouragement at each turn. The systems people are feeling good every time they apply their system. That’s a big difference in terms of maintaining your personal energy in the right direction. …

If you are doing DPC and your goal is X amount of money for X amount of patients then you may never be happy. But if your system is to give personalized and exceptional care in a subscription model then you will succeed. As Adams says, you will feel good every time you apply the system. For example, from my experience:

• Sewing someone’s head at night after leaving the restaurant for my anniversary dinner.
• Seeing a picture of a rash and treating someone who was on vacation in Hawaii.
• Giving a poor family free care because I can.

This is Direct Primary Care and the system works!!

Focus on the system and not the goal.