Years ago, I read an article in a local newspaper in Colorado about remembering to enjoy the journey on the way to the destination. It stuck with me. Sometimes we get so caught up in getting to the destination that we forget to enjoy the getting there, or to appreciate what we can learn and experience along the way.
I believe the same is true of our goals. Goals are wonderful motivators and guideposts for our lives, but it’s easy to get caught up in reaching the goal and forget to appreciate the process of getting there.
We start to think, “When I’m making more money, I’ll be happy,” or “When we get the bigger house, we can finally relax and settle in.” The problem is, we stop enjoying our lives. We don’t live between the goals. Suddenly we can’t be happy until we reach this goal or that one. And what happens when we get there? Are we finally happy? Relaxed?
No. We set another goal.
So our lives become a series of brief moments of happiness, followed by long stretches of self-sacrifice and status quo. Is that any way to live?
Who says we can’t be on a tight budget to get out of debt and still enjoy our lives? Not everything fun, enjoyable, and peaceful costs money. If we’re honest with ourselves, the most memorable moments in our lives often cost very little, or nothing at all.
Enjoy each moment as you’re in it
Think about it. Would it serve you to be miserable while you worked toward a goal, only to fall just short of it? There is so much between the goals: beauty to behold, lessons to be learned, memories to be cherished.
This isn’t an excuse not to set goals. Goals help us move forward. They give us focus and drive. I’m suggesting that you also live your life as you stretch toward each one. Use goals for what they are: a tool, not the be-all and end-all of your existence.
No matter how far I think I’ve come, how much I think I have learned and grown, there is always more.
Camaran Allen