Systems Are Doing It For Themselves

I am hoping after reading the title of this blog that you may have repeated it in song as a parody to Eurythmics uplifting anthem, “Sisters are doing it for themselves!”

As a sidenote I used to grab my 3 daughters all together upon arriving on our annual Gold Coast holiday in the pool and chant the Eurythmics version as we cuddled and waded around in a circle creating an Annie Lennox enthused whirlpool. It was a ritual of sorts and it is rituals and systems I wish to discuss today.

I find rituals and systems extremely interesting.

I have previously written about habits which are closely related but the art of a system is one of beauty.

A quick google check suggests a ‘system’ is a set of things working together as parts of a mechanism or an interconnecting network, a complex whole. While we relate systems to all parts of our world it is the last 3 words that bring my attention today to ourselves, a complex whole.

There is not much more of a ‘complex whole’ than a human being. Essentially a bag of skin and bones but much, much more than that. I am starting to wonder if the human beings with the better systems in their life reap more than those who don’t.

Systems are everywhere we look. A Perth grandmother won nearly $900,000 in Lotto after playing with the same numbers for 31 years with her ‘system’ 7 ticket. There is a system to follow to order my daughters lunch order, a system here and a system there. At the pub we have a simple system in that we come to restaurant tables to take the entire tables order as opposed to individual orders at the counter. This puts a stop to creating multiple tickets for the kitchen and intermittent arrival of meals for the table. It is a system.

But what about your own system. Do you have one?

I recently heard famous comedian Jerry Seinfeld say on The Time Ferris Show (podcast) that he concentrates on ‘systemizing’ his life. Having a regular way of doing things brings him the best results.

Furthermore, Davidji during my daily guided mediation says, “The ancient wisdom traditions teach us how important ritual is, and when you can combine ritual and meaning that equals transformation”.

I know I operate better having woke early, exercised, meditated, spent some time reading or writing and then enjoying a beach walk with my fur babies and a quick dip! Seems an intense morning but as mentioned previously is quite achievable in the early part of the day. It is my own system or ritual and the days it is in place are better than those without.

I shared a beer with 2 friends years ago at the pub and they were curious about the life of a publican. At the time I was very much just getting through day by day with no real system or structure. The 2 friends were split in their assessment. “Na…you need to have a routine” one quipped. “Yeah… but if every day is different without a routine its almost like a holiday!” suggested the other.

Right now I must admit I prefer the routine. Suffice to say I strive to ‘live in the moment’ and appreciate the ‘now’ but having a system allows me to arrive at those moments in my best shape.

Systems and rituals are of course unique. What works for me certainly wont work for the next person but by trying to implement something is better than nothing at all.

I was never a goal setter but with the help of a program this year have set 5. The ‘system’ to help reach those goals is simply to break down the overall goal to a weekly task. “There is only one way to eat an elephant” Desmond Tutu once said, “A bite at a time!” One of the goals is to read 26 books this year. The system? Read roughly 22 pages of a book per day.

Reputable sports stars provide good insight into how systems help them achieve success. Not surprisingly they remain unique to the person. Michael Jordan wore 2 pairs of shorts, Serena Williams insisted people sit in exactly the same positions in her team box each match of a tournament while Les Miles, a College Football Coach, would actually eat, yes “eat”, some of the turf they were about to play on.

More evidence that systems and rituals are interesting if not fascinating and necessary in my opinion.

Anyhow I must go, time to grab my wife and I our second and final coffee for the day, perhaps my favourite system of all.