Happy new year!
I hope the holidays have been for you a time of refreshment and loving relationships of family and friends. And I hope you are leaping into 2025 with a sense of excitement and purpose.
I'm also aware that some people haven't been having a good time this season, whether due to new situations or old wounds that are tied to this time of the year. If that's you, my heart goes out to you. You aren't alone. And since you're reading this, I'm glad you allowed me to join you on this journey.
I'll be honest, I'm entering 2025 kind of blurry-eyed. Maybe I'm still in that nebulous, transitory holiday phase where the days blur together, meal times become non-existent, and discipline is a foreign concept. I don't really have a good sense of what I'd like to work on, and the next 12 months seem like a vast uncharted wilderness where either everything happens... or nothing happens.
But this newsletter is about being purposeful, after all! So even in the uncertainty, we’ll be talking about ways to infuse deliberate steps toward growth and fulfillment.
I have a few essays on the drawing board that I procrastinated on during Christmas. One of them is a reflection on the previous year, lessons learned, and aims moving forward. That'll be coming soon.
Thank you for being here. I hope you continue to find value in these essays.
Now let's get into my thought for the week:
As we move into the new year... stop setting goals.
Set rhythms instead.
Goals have a clear end. Rhythms are indefinite. Are you playing a finite game or an infinite game?
Goals are focused on growth spurts. Rhythms are designed for deep and lasting formation.
Goals have a singular aim. Rhythms are holistic.
Like the beats in music that carry the piece from beginning to end, rhythms form the basic habits and rituals that support us through change and growth.
You may be thinking of Atomic Habits by James Clear. But "habits" isn't the right word either for what I'm talking about. People want to form habits in order to "be productive" or "achieve" something.
But rhythms aren't as concerned with achieving. They're more concerned with being — a steady pulse directed towards your ideal self like a compass.
This mindset shift changes everything.
Exercise is no longer a habit to check off every day — it's the behavioral pattern of a healthy person.
Journaling is no longer a checkbox — it's a natural activity for a self-reflective person.
Goals are a matter of motivation — rhythms are a matter of course.
For example, you might set a nebulous goal like "spend more time with family."
The goal mindset would treat it like a project. What activities can we do? How can I fit that into my schedule?
But the rhythm mindset would focus on a vision. What would a close-knit family look like? They'd probably have meals together. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? Let's make that the new normal.
Telling myself to "write more" in 2025 isn't helpful, and turns the activity into an expectation or obligation.
I write because I chose it as the outflow of my thought life. I write, therefore, I'm a writer.
And because I'm a writer, there's no obligation. It's just what I do.
So here's to setting rhythms in 2025!
Stay purposeful.
– Nathanael
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