What Setting Personal Goals Is Really About
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New Year’s might as well be called the Day of the Goal. In the coming weeks, conversations and social-media feeds will drift en masse to “What do you want to achieve in 2025?” But perhaps a better question is: “How are you spending your time now, and how do you want to be spending your time next year?”
In 2019, my colleague Julie Beck spoke with Goodreads users who were imposing reading goals on themselves, often ones that proved hard to meet. She came into the conversations with a healthy dose of cynicism: “Why set yourself an unattainable goal? Why quantify your leisure reading at all?” I’m skeptical of these kinds of personal goals myself; can’t we simply trust ourselves to spend time on the things we care about? Of course, that’s easier said than done. Having a to-read list can encourage people to spend more time thinking about how much they’re reading and how much they want to be reading. Julie found in her reporting that reading goals are most useful if the person cares less about reaching a specific number and more about the increased reading they end up doing in the process. Ultimately, the point is to align your time, to the extent that you can, with the things that you find important.
On Goals
In Praise of Pointless Goals
By Gloria Liu
These achievements aren’t about productive self-improvement. They’re designed to make the pursuit of joy a deliberate practice.
Are You Dreaming Too Big?
By Arthur C. Brooks
Lifelong, hard-to-achieve goals might not make you happier. Small steps will.
The Adults Who Treat Reading Like HomeworkBy Julie BeckNo one’s making them try to read 100 books a year.
Still Curious?
- Overwhelmed? Just say “no.” The science of how to stop saying yes to everything—and be happier.
- Why success can feel so bitter: Achieving a goal and achieving happiness are two entirely different things, Arthur C. Brooks writes.
Other Diversions
- Why Americans suddenly stopped hanging out
- The carry-on-baggage bubble is about to pop.
- Postpone your pleasures.
P.S.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. “A solitary soul on a beach in Portugal captures the frailty and wonder of life, and our humble place in it,” Tish L., 75, from Summerland, California, writes.
I’ll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks. If you’d like to share, reply to this email with a photo and a short description so we can share your wonder with fellow readers in a future edition of this newsletter or on our website. Please include your name (initials are okay), age, and location. By doing so, you agree that The Atlantic has permission to publish your photo and publicly attribute the response to you, including your first name and last initial, age, and/or location that you share with your submission.
— Isabel