It's certainly worth examining what you want out of the sport, because at some point you'll get seriously injured, or have a near-death experience, or have a friend die, and will have to justify your participation to yourself. I won't go so far as to say that if a traumatic incident changes your approach to the sport then you were living/climbing inauthentically (trauma has real mental effects), but it shouldn't send you into too much of a crisis.
Mountaineering is a very personal sport and I don't want to gatekeep it saying you're approaching it the wrong way. Having a list of peaks you want to climb is fine, but I do roll my eyes a bit at the box-checkers. It's a fine line.
It sounds like you're taking a good approach into mountaineering (I'm really not much of an authority here, honestly). Personally I went the route of joining a local volunteer-run mountaineering club, but independent close-knit groups of climbers are just as good (assuming you have similar attitudes toward safety, risk, and technical education).
My personal goal with mountaineering is to be climbing well into my 70s, just like some of the older people in my club. This requires avoiding routes with higher objective risks, but there are more than enough mountains in the world with which to fill one's heart.
I definitely struggle with the idea of box checking, it is however one of the easiest ways to show progress to myself. Which is why I think many people start with it. I think I'm going to reevaluate how I show personal progress, as well as always double check that safety is my number one priority vs summit chasing. Even though you aren't an authority, this is great info, thanks for this.
Mountaineering is a very personal sport and I don't want to gatekeep it saying you're approaching it the wrong way. Having a list of peaks you want to climb is fine, but I do roll my eyes a bit at the box-checkers. It's a fine line.
It sounds like you're taking a good approach into mountaineering (I'm really not much of an authority here, honestly). Personally I went the route of joining a local volunteer-run mountaineering club, but independent close-knit groups of climbers are just as good (assuming you have similar attitudes toward safety, risk, and technical education).
My personal goal with mountaineering is to be climbing well into my 70s, just like some of the older people in my club. This requires avoiding routes with higher objective risks, but there are more than enough mountains in the world with which to fill one's heart.