It seems odd at the end of March/early April to be opining on yearly goals. Typically, this is a pursuit for the back end of December or, at the very latest, the first few weeks of January.
However, I think it makes a lot more sense to begin our annual ritual of goal setting in March/April. Compare January, which is the dead of winter, to the end of March/start of April. Spring brings with it an atmosphere of rejuvenation and vitality; we can feel ourselves coming alive again after surviving the winter months. It seems a more apt time to try to challenge ourselves to grow instead of during the midst of the post-Christmas sloth and general low energy that winter brings.
I am typically quite strict about goal setting and having some form of accountability to myself and my ambitions. Since graduating university, I have set myself a set of goals each year and then, borrowing from Sahil Bloom, I conduct a quarterly review so that the goals are broken down into more manageable chunks.
During the Christmas period, I came across an article in the FT titled “Forget new year’s resolutions — make a ‘24 for 2024’ list instead.” The author - Jemima Kelly - makes a convincing case for doing away with the above way of thinking about our goals and instead to think of a list of ‘goals’ or ‘aims’ to try and hit with a fun theme around them.
This approach struck a chord with me, particularly as I find myself at a juncture in my personal development journey where I am open to fresh perspectives. It isn’t that I think my current way is fatally flawed, but after doing it for a few years it seems a bit aged. With that in mind, I made the choice to adopt this methodology for managing my goals in 2024, departing from my usual approach. While the impact may not be immediately apparent, I view this shift as an opportunity to reframe how I think about my goals and what defines progress. Having a point of comparison will afford me valuable insights into the efficacy of different goal-setting strategies, enriching my understanding of what works best for me.
“What they are not are resolutions. The key psychological difference, for me, is that none of these goals are things that can be “broken” if and when you slip up — you give yourself the whole year to achieve them.”
Jemima Kelly
The theme for my 24 for ‘24 is: “Getting stuck in”, which is a call to just do things and learn from them as opposed to trying to game out the smartest way to tackle a problem before getting stuck in.
I know in recent years the Teddy Roosevelt ‘man in the arena’ quote has (rightly) become a meme (thanks, Chamath), but the original passage from Roosevelt’s speech does resonate with me - I’ll quote the passage in full below:
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
I won’t share all of my 24 aims but instead a select few. I broke them down into five broad categories:
Running: it is my biggest hobby outside of work and something I devote a lot of time to. It would be remiss not to want to try and do some new things.
Trying New Things: this whole bucket is to try and get myself to do things I wouldn’t normally do, to break free of the routine and embrace being uncomfortable trying something out even if it is only for an afternoon.
Relationships: as life goes on, we naturally bemoan how family/friend visits are too few, and the distance between them ever-growing. I believe the tonic to this is conscientious effort and hope. The goals here are to orient my behavior in that direction.
Growing: these are the investments in myself for future Adnan to reap the benefit of.
Nurturing the Soul: similar to relationships, the soul is in dire need of stewardship lest modern life’s vicissitudes plague our soul and that most valuable asset begins to decay.
Goal Examples:
Goal 5: Run a running training session on track - Running
I have been saying to myself for over a year that I need to incorporate track running into my training regimen. Instead, I have opted for sprints over my usual running route. With so many running tracks that are easily accessible, the goal is to capitalize on this and run at least one session this year on the track.
Goal 7: attend a flower preparing class - Trying New Things
There is no broader narrative about this. I like plants and botany and want to get my hands dirty arranging some flowers. I am not someone for whom ‘hands on’ things comes naturally, so quite a few of these are specifically focused on working with my hands.
Goal 15: Read 24 evergreen essays/books - Growing
This is a modification of my existing framework of goals in two ways:
The list isn’t prescriptive
Instead of just books, I have expanded to essays
I class something as evergreen if it is something I can re-read and it doesn’t sound dated. It is a distant cousin of Taleb’s “Lindy” things. These are the types of writing you might find in my 4-2-3-1 series. Some examples are below.
Fragile, luminous, compelling: Louis van Gaal is football’s essential dad
Drive a gas-guzzler, buy a coal mine and other uses of reverse logic
Goal 24: 24 meatless days this year - Nurturing the Soul
This goal came to mind as I was reading through Yasir Qadhi’s Sirah of the Prophet ﷺ. When describing the diet of the Prophet, it mentioned how meat was a luxury item and he would go long periods without consuming it. It made me stop and realize how much meat I consume, so this is an attempt to reduce that amount in keeping with an example from the best example we have: the Prophet ﷺ.
“…the Prophet ﷺ would, at times, not taste meat for up to six weeks.”
“Abdurrahman ibn Awf رضي الله عنه was offered a platter of meat and bread, to which he cried and said, ‘Until his death, the Prophet ﷺ never ate wheat bread to his fill. And I worry that Allah allowed us to remain [on this Earth] to witness these blessings whereas the Prophet ﷺ has returned to something greater (i.e., he is being rewarded in the hereafter instead).”1
So far, I have warmed to this way of framing my goals for the year because it gives me something to aim for and with a very clear marker for success. I can, in theory, tick off all 24 of my items as there are discrete markers for each of those.
I’ll write a follow-up at the end of the year (or maybe at the start of 2025) breaking down how I got on. For now, all I can say is I am ready to get stuck in!
P.10 Sirah of the Prophet (Dr Yasir Qadhi)