For many years, I was constantly striving for the next step. Get a MSc. Get a PhD. Become an assistant professor. An associate professor. A full professor. A vice-president in industry. And so on. And my main driver was, I think, to a large extent to garner external validation. Validation that I was smart, relevant, adding value and part of the in-crowd. The tribe. At some point, after turning 50 or so, I realized that I had accomplished most of what I had set out to do. I was financially secure, professionally successful, had lived in multiple countries and had done things that some people can only dream of. So, I let go of the “achievement thing” and my goal was to enjoy living in the moment and to stop wanting to always achieve things. A few years in, I realize that I have picked up the desire to achieve things again. The last years, I have climbed Kilimanjaro in Africa and Lobuchu East Peak in Nepal. I have run two marathons. Together with amazing colleagues, I have published quite a few strong papers I am proud of. I am active in startups as angel investor, board member and even co-founder. But the drive is different: it is no longer to impress others, but rather to use my time on this planet to self-actualize. To be all I can be, to paraphrase the US military’s motto. And to contribute to humankind what I can, even if others don’t think it’s that important. In the end, it is good to set goals, to strive to accomplish hard things and to celebrate when you achieve them. But I think the reasons why you do that matter even more. So, my dearest hard-driving, type-1, goal -oriented reader: why do you do it? And do you do it for the right reasons?