We are used to explaining action by what it is for.
Exercise in order to become healthier.
Study in order to qualify.
Save in order to buy.
Speak in order to persuade.
This way of thinking is often useful.
It becomes limiting when every action must justify itself through a later payoff.
Some actions are worth doing because they express the kind of participation we choose now.
Tell the truth because truth matters in the relationship.
Keep a promise because reliability matters.
Offer care because care is the action the moment calls for.
Create because creating is part of how we live.
Results still matter.
Actions still have consequences and should be judged partly by them.
The distinction is that consequence does not have to be the only source of value.
When every action is merely a means, the present is repeatedly spent purchasing a future.
Some actions can stand more directly.
They are not performed to prove that life mattered later.
They are part of how life is being lived now.

A reflection on action and instrumental thinking: some actions matter because they express a value or commitment, not only because they produce a later result.

We are used to explaining action by what it is for.

It becomes limiting when every action must justify itself through a later payoff.

Some actions are worth doing because they express the kind of participation we choose now.

Tell the truth because truth matters in the relationship.

Keep a promise because reliability matters.

Offer care because care is the action the moment calls for.

Create because creating is part of how we live.

Actions still have consequences and should be judged partly by them.

The distinction is that consequence does not have to be the only source of value.

When every action is merely a means, the present is repeatedly spent purchasing a future.

They are not performed to prove that life mattered later.

They are part of how life is being lived now.

Some Actions Are Ends, Not Means