The butterfly effect is a concept within chaos theory mathematics that means a small change in one state of being can be responsible for big differences in another.  The term was coined based on the idea that the wind pushed by a butterfly in one part of the world, could be responsible for starting a hurricane somewhere else.  As unlikely as that may be, I’ll explain here how true the concept is within the changes I made to my life – each starting with one small push.

If we’re lucky, we get to a point in life where we watch our parents age.  Mine, like many, can’t move the way they did when they were younger.  In fact, lately it’s clear they can’t move like they did five years ago, or even one year ago.  Some of this is due to medical issues beyond their control that would set anyone back.  What I’ve learned from this is that things will happen as I get older that might weaken or limit my abilities, but the fitter I am going into it, the better I will be coming out of it.

I think some people believe I am crazy.  I mean, they’ve told me so as recently as this week.  I’m not buying it, but for those who want to think so, the topic of this week’s crazy are the two races I ran over the past week or so.  Less than 48 hours after arriving home from Antarctica, I ran my first ever half marathon.  Then, a week later (this past Sunday), I ran a 10K in 18-degree weather.  Ambitious?  Yes.  Crazy?  No. 

Antarctica is one of the most remote and uninhabitable places on Earth.  The journey to get there is long and unpredictable, particularly as one must cross the dreaded Drake Passage to reach the continent.  But even if one makes it through, there’s no guarantee of what will happen once you get there.  Actually, there is one guarantee that our expedition leader, Neil, gave us at the start of our trip . . . “It will not go according to plan.”  All of this feels like a microcosm of my journey and a perfect setting to appreciate where I am on it today — especially as this destination did not seem possible for my body, mind, or fitness just ten years ago.

Having just been caught in the moment of New Year’s and setting our goals for 2025, it’s now time to toss them out the window – if we haven’t already.  I mean, seriously, when it is a challenge to even predict a day ahead, how can we possibly predict the year ahead?  We can all probably look back to one year ago and see how impossible that is.  As the old Yiddish adage goes, “Man Plans.  God laughs.”

As we enter the New Year, it’s time for my much-anticipated post about goals.  I’ve said this many times before, but goals can be dangerous.  Of course, it’s often beneficial and productive to aspire.  Ambition gives us purpose, and in any journey, purpose is what it’s all about.  The danger in goals is not about the possibility of falling short or setting expectations that turn out to be unattainable – in fact, there’s much to learn from that – rather, it’s about making sure that whatever goal I set will truly further what I want to achieve.

First, as I share my thoughts on goals, I understand that goals are personal.  This area, more than any other, is one where none of us are the same and the differences in our lives matter the most when looking ahead to what we want to achieve.  But there is an underlying concept that all of us can benefit from when setting goals in our lives – focus them on the process, not the outcome.