Misplaced attachment to metrics

I do this thing called 750 words.  You go on the website and you write.  And every day that you write 750 words, you get some points.  And an X shows up on your scorecard like a strike in bowling.  Every day you write anything at all, you get 1 point.  It shows up like a spare on your score card.  When you get strikes on several days in a row, you get badges.

Well, today, I logged in and I was disappointed to see that I only got a spare for yesterday's writing.  I expected to see a strike because I distinctly remember passing the 750 word mark in my writing yesterday.  Maybe I closed my computer before those last few words were saved or something.  I don't know.

Then I realized is that it doesn't even really matter.  I did the writing.  That's the important part.  I got to process some thoughts.  My mind feels a little less cluttered.  I got a little bit more clarity on a big project. 

Whether or not I get a strike or a spare or whatever the number of points or badges I get for writing is not the point. 

What's interesting is that because this metric is so much more visible and concrete than the clarity and progress I made through writing, my heart actually sank a little when I saw the spare instead of the strike, which I expected. 

It's very silly, actually.  Because the part that really matters is done.  The writing is there.  And I've already extracted the benefit of it. 

Yet, as evidenced by that heart sinking, I see that I've put far more importance to this metric than it deserves.

Where are we going?

My friend has a three year old, who she pushes in the stroller when we go for our runs.  On Friday, as we were running, her daughter asked us, "Where are we going?".  Between gasping breaths, I tried to explain to her that we're not really going anywhere.  We're just running. 

Sometimes, it's really more about journey itself and how you traverse than it is about the final destination. 

Education and grades

When I was in school, my main goal from each class was to get a credit with a good grade to put on my transcript.

It was only recently that I realized how badly I had missed the point.  The purpose of an education is not a nice transcript or degree.  Nicely printed pieces of paper can be obtained through much simpler means.  The purpose of the education is improvement of the student -- her refinement and transformation so that she is better when she comes out of it than when she went into it.

It's like physical exercise -- the purpose is not to lift the weight or to cover the distance.  If it were, we'd use cranes or vehicles.  That would be much easier.  But no, the purpose is to make the person doing it stronger, healthier and more fit.  The weights and kilometres are only means to achieve that -- as are the tests, assignments and grades.