Ever meet a person who remembers you from an earlier meeting, and you don’t remember them? That happened to me a couple years ago. I had made acquaintance with a colleague in my industry at a mixer. I thought we were getting to know one another for the first time, but he said he remembered me from an earlier phone encounter. He said “I thought you were very organized, and had a lot of systems.”

That sounds like me. Like a beaver makes dams, I make systems. It’s how I do.

A few months ago, I was looking for a silly easy to read book. I picked up Scott Adam’s How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big. It was easy to read, but not nearly as silly as I was expecting. He is a proponent of systems versus goals. He says that a system is far more reliable than a goal. Systems are crafted for success.

I know. I create little systems and habits. If you follow me on social media, you know I have a very faithful habit of posting of photo of the sunrise. And weekdays, I post a two minute “Hey you!” video greeting and inspirational thought.

Then of course, there is this very regular Weekly Wonder. I never miss it.

These are good systems, or habits I have for engaging with my day. It gives me handholds to pull me forward.

And yet, it’s worth double checking. Have I outgrown these habits? Are my systems doing what I hoped they would?

With the changing of the seasons, I think it’s time to take a look around and make sure these systems are pointing me in the right direction.

What is it I really want? Are my systems moving me towards or away from my desires?

Small trajectories that persist over time can take me very far off course. It is worth double checking my momentum.

We just changed the clocks, to match how we use our daylight. I am ready to calibrate the course I’m on to make sure it truly is going where I hope to go.

That honestly means I have to double check the maps. Are the landmarks behind me? What assumptions have to be re-examined?

The longer dark days lead to this kind of introspection. I have to bring my own light to the shorter days. The systems that support the systems need some attention.