As we look to the new year, it can be easy to focus exclusively on all the things we want to accomplish. But in doing so, we risk losing sight that there is more to who we are than simply what we do. Instead of only asking, ‘What do I want to do this year?’, it’s also valuable to ask, ‘What kind of person do I want to become?’
The challenge with this last question, though, is that talking about ‘being’ is much harder to quantify that ‘doing’—we can’t simply chart our progress in character and virtue as easily as the other tasks we take on. And so, it’s easy to focus our attention on the things that are easier to track.
Of course, what we do does have an affect on who we become. So in determining what we want to do, it’s important to make sure whatever we choose aligns with who we want to become, because these things will have an impact. And if whatever we set out to do this year doesn’t help us become the kind of person we’re aiming to be, it’s time to reconsider our goals.