Fifty

I've successfully written fifty blogs in a row before today [1]. That translates to ten consecutive weeks of writing in the morning. Of course, fifty is an arbitrary milestone; I won't win anything for my so called feat, and there are no guidelines for milestones or finish lines other than the ones that I set for myself. But despite the lack of definiteness, this supposed milestone is still meaningful.

They say that goals should be measurable and actionable. Well, having "goals" of this nature is difficult when I my plan is to continue writing indefinitely. The next best thing I can do is to have measurable and actionable milestones.

Fifty blogs turns out to be just that: measurable and actionable. The fact that I accomplished this doesn't actually mean anything on its own. More important, however, is the effect on my psyche when knowing that I've achieved this number. I'm not sure what exactly goes on inside my brain, but I'm sure I'm making positive associations between my emotions and the act of writing even as we speak. The fact that I can look back on the 'fifty' number and lean on it in times of difficulty means that I can use this memory and positive association to propel me forward in this new pursuit of mine.

Fifty is an arbitrary milestone; so is one hundred. But we've been shaped by our education and society which has ingrained positive associations into such wholesome numbers [2]. Suddenly, 'fifty' isn't as useless or arbitrary as it previously seemed; the number may be arbitrary in principle, but is definitely meaningful when connected to our own experiences and positive associations in the past. To that end, here's to a hundred.

[1] Weekdays only.

[2] Perhaps our brain remembers the positive emotions we felt from accomplishing ten push ups, fifty sit ups, and the like.