Most people go through life be lining for their next destination. This isn’t entirely wrong. However when that next destination or that next, becomes all you see and you forget to look around you can easily get lost in life and loose your own meaning.
You have to go to school, need to pass and get a number to grade yourself. Then you can go apply to further your education. Depending on your social group it can be heavily influenced. Then you must apply for a ‘real’ job in your area.Then work your way to get promoted to the next position. Happy yet? Now you can start to buy a house, car or start a family. Then you have to keep working at your job to support them. Then you can work your way to retirement! Now you’re happy?
I explain more about this in another post ‘you do you’
The scenario I explained above is an overview of what happens but to change that you need to look more closely. More zoomed in, only then you can change the big picture. Here’s two scenarios to look a little closer;
Imagine you’re doing a road trip. A week long one up the east coast of Australia. You have a destination, a goal. The end of the week you’ve made it you got to the end.
Now you’re in your home town and you drive each day. Everyday that week you drive around town and that’s your goal.
In both scenarios you drive the same amount, same time and distance. However after a few days driving around town it’d start to get repetitive and you’d start almost blank out parts (you know when you drive and you’re like ‘how did I get here?’). Even if you were taking different roots or trying new things.
However on the road trip when you get there even though it took you longer to reach your goal. You never talk about your goal it was the stories and adventures along the way. The goal was a bi-product from your travels.
Relating this. If you have a job/skill and you’re passionate about it and see where you want to go and enjoy everyday that’s like the road trip. Although if you are working in a job just to get by and just looking for the next pay raise this is like driving around your home town. It can become meaningless and can be a huge cause of depression.
Focus on the Journey, not the destination. Joy is not found in finishing the activity but in doing it – Greg Anderson
