Skip to main content

Life is a journey, not a destination

This crazy rollercoaster ride we call life is unequivocally, as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, a journey, not a destination.

Indeed, it's not so much about where we end up as it is how we got there.

How many times have you gone on road trips, only to reflect more fondly on the time spent making your way there -- cracking jokes with friends, singing songs with the family, exploring the outdoors -- than the destination in question?

We have a tendency to focus so hard on the end goal that we seldom stop to appreciate the incremental steps that get us there.

For example, we or someone we know likely wishes to lose weight. It can be easy to become fixed on losing, say, 50 pounds as soon as possible.

But as sweet as achieving that goal will be, chances are we will come to miss the feeling of working toward their target. The elation that comes from losing five pounds and looking forward to doubling that number.

The same goes for college students who assert that graduation can't come soon enough, but once it does, they end up wishing they had tried harder to make the most of their time in the Ivory Tower.

Or how about people who hook up with someone in hopes of sprinting to the altar, neglecting to savor the relationship in small doses?

Put another way, many people spend their life living in the future rather than in the present, and as I've pointed out in various posts, happiness lies in the here and now.

We live for Fridays, for graduation, for retirement. But why not just live for today?

We must remind ourselves that just because we haven't yet met a goal doesn't mean we can't appreciate the road we've traveled.

As it turns out, the many journeys we've embarked on throughout our lives have gotten us to where we are today.  We've worked hard, cultivated relationships, and made plenty of sacrifices along the way.

Success does not come without our fair share of challenges. Life itself is a long journey -- with arduous problems to solve and tough lessons to learn. Still, it is through hardship that we emerge stronger and happier. Those rough spots become memories we reflect on later, realizing they played a pivotal part in our growth.

If one makes life all about the destination, he or she is not living it to the max. Instead, they should seize each day as it comes, never taking for granted trails we have blazed -- however long, however mundane, however painful -- to get there.

Enjoy the ride!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

This will spell the end of your relationship

When asked to think about the most common culprits for a relationship's going south, most people will point to cheating, complacency, and taking one's partner for granted. While these are all valid -- and documented in various posts on this blog -- there are certain habits on the part of partners that may not kill the relationship right away, but cause it to erode more gradually.  Among the most egregious of these is expecting your significant other to be perfect. They pick at your follies any chance they get. Nothing you do is ever good enough. In fact, you will never measure up to an ex, neighbor, or accomplished co-worker.  Perhaps this all sounds a bit familiar.  When you feel as though you're constantly being put under the microscope, it can inflict lasting damage on the relationship and your self-esteem. You're walking on eggshells all the time, praying you don't say or do something that's going to trigger your partner. This is no way to live, let alone ca
Post a Comment
Read more

No response from someone IS a response

Make no mistake about it: When you don't get a response from someone -- whether they fail to answer your texts or return your phone calls -- it is  still a response, and a powerful one at that. When a person fails to respond, it's a direct reflection of their interest -- or lack thereof -- in the relationship. Few things are more aggravating than having to hound a partner, friend, or relative for some sort of reply after we've reached out to them. Yes, we get busy from time to time, but that doesn't give anyone the right to leave the other person hanging. A terse text with something like "Been busy, will reach out soon" doesn't say much, but at least it shows some effort to bring the other person up to speed on why they've fallen off the radar. Failing to provide a response for weeks -- if not months -- communicates that you are just not a priority, and that you'll have to wait your turn to get this individual's attention. This is n
6 comments
Read more

Misconceptions about quiet people

Earlier today, I came across a Facebook page that features motivational quotes intended to improve people's moods and enhance their overall self-esteem. Interestingly, I noticed two quotes that focus specifically on quiet people: "Be afraid of quiet people; they're the ones who actually think." "The quietest people have the loudest minds." I've observed that most people's views of quiet individuals can fall under one of two categories: 1. The ones who say quiet people are antisocial, suspicious, snobbish, and/or full of themselves. 2. The people who say their introspective nature and propensity to be deep in thought makes them smarter than their more garrulous peers. The quotes above speak to this mindset. As an introvert known to be quiet at work and at social functions where I might not know anyone, I feel I'm well positioned to dispel any inaccuracies surrounding quiet folks. First of all, the above statements misguidedly put
1 comment
Read more