As we’re moving toward the end of November as I write this, I have started to reflect on the year and to work on my goals for 2026. The challenge is that it is very easy to plan goals from your current place and context. For example, if we published N papers this year, the goal for next year is to publish N+1 papers. Or, I ran a marathon this year, so next year I want to run an ultramarathon. The challenge is that this does not necessarily get you where you want your life to end up. There is the somewhat dramatic challenge where you are asked to imagine what you want to not regret while lying on your deathbed. Or what you want people to say at your funeral. Although that is fine as a starting point, I think we should avoid focusing our energy on what we want others to say about us. And also, life requires making choices, causing us to get certain things and having to give up others. The approach that I am currently taking is to work my way back from my life goals that I organized around me, my family, my professional role and my role as a citizen and human. I will not bore you with the details of my goals, but I do encourage you to reflect on your own life goals and to start planning 2026 in service of those!