Milestones are Better than Benchmarks

Milestones are Better Than Benchmarks

We live in a society that obsesses on dates and benchmarks, checkpoints on the path through life instead of enjoying the milestones as they go past.

Life isn't contract law - it doesn't operate the same way. At work, we have benchmarks when a project needs to be complete or, in my case, when an inspection will be performed and the report delivered. There are usually penalties associated with these missed dates chiefly relating to money. Even when a performance bonus is included in the contract, it is subject to date certain provisions that will take money away if the targets are missed. That's the way contract law works, all stick and no carrot.

It's a lousy way to live.

Thirty years ago, a lady said 'I do" and has been stuck with me ever since. As we shared the years together, we've celebrated birth of children and anniversaries. We've suffered the loss of jobs and survived being flat broke. Each event, large and small, was a milestone in our journey and added to our memory of our lives.

Thirty years is a milestone, not a checkpoint. Tomorrow will be another anniversary, thirty years and one day but nobody I know of  celebrates that. There are no commercials to buy flowers or chocolate or diamonds. Even Hallmark, reported to have cards for every occasion, seems to have missed that one.

But we will note the milestone, the same way we've noted the milestones in the past and the many in our future.

With a kiss and an "I love you."