You ever wonder why when you achieve a goal you feel a little empty inside?
It’s okay to admit it.
It might not hit you right away but eventually though the basking in your glory, the accolades and encouragement from your friends and family fades and the trophy, award or medal begins to collect dust.
Merely an object or reminder to what you have done in the past.
Sounds depressing?
Sure it might be.
Why is achievement fleeting?
Why is the figurative climb to the top of the mountain leave you lacking that eternal sense of accomplishment?
Because life is about moments. It’s about NOW.
The past fades and the future is in front of us and who wants to live in the past?
Hey, when I was younger all I could think about was driving and forging ahead and knocking out goal after goal. Half-Ironman races, marathons, job promotions, finishing classes, winning awards and building a sense of “internal” fame. I felt that I couldn’t let up, had to keep pushing and checking off more and more things on my “list”.
All to keep achieving goals to be successful or what I deem successful and gain more recognition.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with being driven to achieve! In fact you should always be striving to become better, grow your skills, knowledge and your definition of “success”.
In life you should test yourself, push yourself and leave the uncomfortable to get uncomfortable. That’s how you grow.
What I was ignoring however was every little step along the way. Sure, I’m a huge believer that massive goals are achieved by small little victories that add up over time and when put together equals ultimate achievement.
Sure that’s great…. .BUT I wasn’t truly living those “tiny” victories. I was doing them in mind and body but not truly relishing the moment of each one.
I wasn’t focusing on enjoying the journey. I was pushing from one success to another seeing it as merely a quick step on the run toward my mythical endpoint of perceived success. Like something just out of reach, there is inevitably one more thing to do. One more hill to climb.
Before you know it you’ve passed a huge chasm but don’t know how you really got there. Much like taking a walk through nature but because you are on the phone the entire time you don’t notice anything you walked by. You never see the flowers, the trees or wildlife. It’s like driving home on mental autopilot and not knowing how you got home because you are operating like a robot. You never noticed life along the way.
We live in a world today so interconnected, so digitally consumed that we are under a constant barrage of tweets, like, updates, news, shares and alerts that we can rarely decompress. We never really take the time to reflect and enjoy the moment.
We never enjoy the journey.
The journey though, is life!
This is where we live, grow and shape who we are.
So my point is this. While we should drive ahead, achieve and push for improvement, goals and success, don’t forget to actually live and truly enjoy the journey because that is where most of us live our lives.
That's my thoughts. - Ernie
If you liked this article please like and share! Thanks for reading.