A Milestone Is a Record, Not a Contract

When I think through a changing chapter, I notice how easily a finished goal gets turned into either proof that we must keep going—or evidence that we should never have started. Both conclusions ask too much of one milestone.

A milestone can record what mattered at the time without deciding what must matter next. Completing a course, for example, may still count even if the career plan around it changes. The useful question is not only “What did I achieve?” but “What value or skill, if any, do I choose to carry forward?”

The next chapter can differ without making the previous one a mistake.