Becoming along the Way

Since I was a teenager, goals have been a big part of my life.

Sometimes daily. Sometimes just sitting quietly in the background.

I’ve written five-year plans and even ten-year life plans. Some of them worked beautifully. Others, well, they didn’t work at all.

Yet both mattered.

Like many others, I’ve felt the pull of the New Year resolution (again). It got me thinking about the summer this last year and the walk along the West Highland Way.

The annual moment at new year, is when many of us will pause, reflect, and decide that something in our life deserves intention – that certainly happened last year.

Yet over time, I’ve learned that goals aren’t really about the calendar. They’re about direction.

Goals have never been about reaching a finish line for me, but about choosing who I’m becoming along the way.

They are also about the struggles and the stretching!

When goals succeed, they build confidence. When they fail, they build clarity.

Failure has been one of my greatest teachers. It forces reflection and invites learning.

I like the idea that FAIL simply means 𝑭𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒕 𝑰𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈.

Most growth arrives that way, not through perfection, but through adjustment.

Looking back, the goals I missed shaped me just as much as the ones I achieved.

They helped me to understand my personal values.

They also showed me where I needed more patience, more honesty, and even more courage.

That’s the quiet power of goals. They don’t just guide what we do. They shape how we show up. In small, repeated choices, they help us become a little more aligned with who we want to be.

And in the end, that matters far more than any finish line.

Who are you becoming through the goals you’re setting right now?