2022-12-16 Being

What do you think about goals? Are you a New Year’s resolution maker? In a recent conversation with my good friend Brandon Tumblin from The Strong Stoic Newsletter, we discussed when and how to think about making goals. Specifically, we discussed three questions:

• Where you are (areas for improvement)?
• Where you’re going (the goal)?
• What you’re doing (the process)?

The conversation got me thinking about traditional goals compared to perennial habits. By perennial habits, I am referring to practices like meditation, contemplation, prayer, etc.

As many of you know, it is often said that goals for these types of perennial habits only get in the way. As the Roman statesman, Cicero pointed out, “Virtue is its own reward.” The same notion applies to perennial habits; simply doing them is the goal.