Unfinished

As we turn the page into the next year, my thoughts have been on resolutions and the pressure that often accompanies them. And then, as the Universe always does, it answered my unasked question. Sometimes the answer comes as a flash of inspiration during meditation; other times, it is a path forward suddenly made clear. But this time, the Universe provided not one, but two articles I stumbled upon.

The first was an odd little list in the latest edition of Harper’s Magazine. “Wealth of Creations,” by literary professor Adam Smyth, was a list of projects he has begun and consequently abandoned throughout the past few decades. Smyth’s list included articles, several books (both fiction and nonfiction), a radio program, a TV show, a podcast, and a “commitment to memorizing poems,” among other ideas. He included short notes about each point, and it was clear that some of these projects were discarded almost immediately, while others he had invested a substantial amount of time and research in.

The second article was “Why da Vinci Thought He Was a Failure,” posted by The Culturist account by Amanda Montell on Substack. Apparently, despite (or maybe because of) da Vinci’s wide array of interests and talents, he famously abandoned many of his projects and completed only 20 paintings during his 50-year career.

At this time of year, I routinely review my previous year’s goals and write new ones for the upcoming year. I typically measure my success as the completion of a list of tasks. But what if, instead, I measured my success upon the starting of those goals? I begin, I learn, I adjust. Sometimes I complete the task at hand, and other times I abandon it. Perhaps the accomplishment is the list itself.

As I’m typing this, my phone has interrupted my flow of thought with a notification of an incoming text. I look over to see a message from my 88-year-old aunt on this New Year’s Eve: “Happy, healthy, and successful New Year to everyone. Do something daring to ring in 2026.”

Do the daring thing. Whether or not it is completed is inconsequential.