Over the years, I’ve written a lot about goals. I believe in setting them, and I often do. But there have been times when I didn’t set a goal and still achieved something meaningful — both professionally and personally.

So this January, while podcasts and blogs buzz with strategies for goal setting, I’m taking a different approach. I’m sharing a few personal stories of when I acted like Nike and “just did it.”

One of the most notable professional examples was earning my master’s degree.

I can’t recall the exact year, but it was before 1991 when I officially received the degree. At the time, I was working as the Director of Management Training for what was then Sovran Bank of Maryland (now Bank of America). One day, a brochure crossed my desk promoting a class in organizational development. I thought, “How interesting!”

As I read further, I discovered the class was being offered near my home, conveniently scheduled on Tuesday and Thursday evenings — perfect for my work schedule. “Marvelous,” I thought.

The brochure mentioned an information session with the professor, which included dinner. I figured, “Why not?”

Long story short: I attended the dinner, signed up for the class, and was immediately captivated. The subject matter fascinated me, the reading list was compelling, and the other attendees seemed interesting. I signed up for the class and found most of the coursework as well as the classes engrossing. By the end of the semester, I wanted to take another, and then another — and I was hooked.

Before even realizing it, I was one-third of the way through a master’s program before I made a conscious decision to pursue the degree.

It wasn’t until later, when I started looking into the requirements for the program, that I learned I’d have to take courses in statistics and statistical inference. Those weren’t exactly thrilling prospects, but by then, I was too engaged in the journey to stop. I was learning too much — about the content, my peers, and myself.

It struck me that sometimes, we achieve big things not because we plan every detail in advance, but because we follow a spark of curiosity, take the first step, and keep going.

So, this January, I encourage you to reflect: Have you ever found yourself achieving something great without formally setting a goal?