As we step into 2026, the Guardian Life weekly series, Navigating Life, returns with a provocative and refreshing premise for the new year. The inaugural edition for January 2026 challenges the conventional wisdom of goal-setting, proposing that the path to a more fulfilling life might lie in embracing the unconventional.
The series, which explores practical ways to live with more ease, clarity, joy, and intention, suggests that typical resolutions like making more money, getting fitter, or being more disciplined, while not bad, are often too safe and predictable. The author shares a personal shift from setting strictly SMART goals to pursuing objectives that inject curiosity, play, and intentional theatre into everyday existence.
From Management to Experience: The Philosophy of Weird Goals
The core argument is that modern goal-setting has drained the joy out of aspiration. The new approach isn't about being unserious, but about designing goals that pull you into your life rather than having you manage it from a distance. The aim is to make ordinary days feel intentional and slightly ridiculous in the best way, transforming the annual checklist into a permission slip for a more engaged life.
Practical Examples of Unconventional Aiming
The article provides a vivid blueprint for this philosophy, categorizing weird goals into actionable themes:
Injecting Intentional Drama: This includes planning a dramatic, unexplained exit from a situation, delivering an iconic line before disappearing, or experiencing a kiss charged with 'end-of-the-world' energy. The idea is to consciously create moments that break the monotony of adult life.
Gamifying Discipline: Recognizing that discipline often feels like punishment, the author suggests turning it into play. Examples include collecting gold stars in a journal for workouts instead of chasing streaks, flossing daily without strict timing, snacking in bed using only chopsticks, and responding to emails immediately to gift future-you less anxiety.
Prioritizing Relentless Curiosity: Pushing back against the adult neglect of curiosity, goals involve cooking one unfamiliar international dish every two weeks, learning oddly specific skills like selecting the sweetest fruit by touch, mastering one unbeatable recipe per meal, and keeping one plant alive through the year.
The Quiet Courage of Living Differently
Some goals focus on subtle shifts in perspective and quiet bravery. This involves acting as the creative director of your own life, curating moments and style. It extends to learning dramatic phrases in another language, noticing one astonishing small thing daily, and undertaking 'rejection therapy' by actively collecting 100 rejections as proof of trying.
The list also includes deeply personal quests: going on three dates with bald men 'for research', organizing monthly photoshoots to document the year, owning fewer than five Stanley cups, telling people you love them more often, and planning a different solo date every month.
The Ultimate Objective: Presence Over Perfection
The article concludes by emphasizing that the point is not to complete every item. The true purpose of setting weird goals is to remember that life is for living, not just for improving. This approach is designed to pull individuals back into their bodies, choices, and daily experiences, fostering presence in a world obsessed with outcomes.
The author invites readers to share their own weird resolutions, framing the list as a living document. The underlying message for 2026 is clear: if your goals feel heavy or joyless, try adding one that makes no sense on paper but makes you feel truly awake.
