The saying goes thus “success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.” – Arthur Ashe
Life is a journey and no one actually knows the outcome. All we have is the faintest idea of where we want to be at the end. All we can only do is strife to get the best outcome out of it. This is to say that we can only make plans and work towards them there is no guarantee we it will work out exactly as we plan. Life’s journey to achieving your goals greatly exceeds the goal.
The steps taken to get to the destination is as important if not more important than the destination itself. Talk of all of the experiences, growth and wealth of knowledge gathered along the way. It would be impossible to reach the destination if you do not go through the journey step by step. Itis therefore important that you enjoy the journey as much as the destination. Attaining your goal is a product of the journey you went through.
There is some merit in focusing on your goal and not letting anything distract you. However, a lot of people who eventually made it to their destination started out with a very unclear goal or no goals at all, yet still managed to achieve notable success.
WHAT YOU COULD LOSE FOR NOT ENJOYING THE JOURNEY.
Having to put all your focus into getting to the destination would mean you lose out on all of the fun, side attractions, the regiments. Even key elements like acquiring valuable skills and continuous improvement that you should get while on the journey.
Obsessing with your destination or you goal can be at the detriment of your self-worth and happiness as a person. These are part of what shape you and allows you to enjoy the destination to the fullest.
Here are some thoughts on how you can enjoy your journey as much as the destination:
Take the journey one step at a time
Life happens in phases and steps. Fulfill them in bits, savor each stage, and take it one step at a time. Get the best from what lie in-between those steps. Take in all the experience and lessons. When you focus on just the goal, you stand to lose the experiences and lessons in between. The journey is what makes life exist in all her glory. You get to appreciate the journey a lot more if you have the mindset that you can achieve anything you set your mind to. All you need is a strong will, intention and determination. There is no rush. Rushing through it all will cost you a lot more than you know right now.
Take your eyes off the destination for a moment
A destination is unattainable without the journey. It is at this stage your goals become more defined. Why would you want to miss out on this stage? Starting out without paying attention to the process is like driving towards the edge of a cliff. No one really knows what the destination looks like. We only have a faint idea of the destination at the beginning. Life changes and taking your eyes off the destination for a moment would help prepare you better for the next phase of the journey. From enjoying the journey, you would know if you need to take a detour or keep driving straight ahead. This doesn’t mean you should lose focus of the destination entirely. Just enjoy, learn, unlearn and relearn new habits at each stage. This prepares you for future challenges and allows you to be able to enjoy the destination to the fullest.
The journey shape and builds your character
People are shaped by their experiences. You probably have a particular disposition on certain matters because of your past experiences and these encounters are always factors that come to play whenever you have to face such situations again. The adage goes thus “once bitten twice shy”. A good example is this; someone who has had an experience with an employee stealing funds from his business. He would approach employment of staff with a totally different view from someone who has never had anything stolen from him.
Your character is shaped on the journey to reach your destination. Strength of character is developed throughout the journey from the trials and lessons experienced at one point or another.
When the time comes to put these lessons and skills gotten to use, they become relevant. This is unlike someone that wasn’t patient enough to learn from the lesson. They would be forced to learn this lesson at this point but at a much greater cost.
Journey is the place to make mistakes.
There is nothing worse than making some mistakes at a particular stage in the journey. Some of them could all have been avoided. It is very okay to make mistakes or fall at some point in the journey. The best time for all of these to happen is when you are still early on in the journey. At this stage you can still pick yourself up and move forward having learnt from what made you fall. However, at some stage or level of the journey such mistakes and goals can be at a very big detriment to you and your destination.
The journey should be the focus rather than the destination. This is where you grow and gain innumerable resources along the way which make the destination a lot more enjoyable.
People who have made it to their destination in the past have shown to be very adaptable. They learn, unlearn and relearn from the process that life puts them through. They do not have fixed outcomes on how they will arrive at their destination.
At the point of getting to their destination, they can relax and be assured they will get there. This is because a well enjoyed and rewarding journey replete with fulfilling life experiences.
Every phase in the journey is a continual refining process that will lead to the best destination. Enjoying the journey means you get to reach your destination and also acquired the strength of character to match. You also get to enjoy your destination as well because you went through the preparation process.