Season goals: 6:45 mile. 50 push-ups. 3-minute plank. Tbh, these numbers were never really the point.
This week’s kickoff post reminded me of a Derek Thompson piece I’ve been sitting with. He talks about the idea of “value capture,” where a simplified, measurable goal takes over from the richer, harder-to-quantify thing you actually cared about. You start rock climbing because it clears your mind. Then you find the scoring system. Then you’re miserable chasing grades instead of climbing. The metric swallows the purpose.
My real season goal was consistency of showing up. Trying to get a good W/L record. Even when I was out of the map on a 10-day meditation retreat, or traveling around with inconsistent schedules, or trying to get a routine back in NYC. That’s harder to put a number on.
The part of this season I’ve enjoyed most is honestly the writing. It forced me to reflect on this period of my life. Putting a framework to my sabbatical week by week through the kickoff posts, seeing if the themes actually map onto what I was living, and then hearing that something landed for someone. That feedback loop has been genuinely satisfying in a way I didn’t expect.
We also had the Hebrew Hammers meetup. Something about being in a room together, pulling for each other, made the whole thing feel real in a different way. I love the push of a hard challenge, and I love doing it alongside people. Maybe my why this season is something like: grow through challenge, together.