Journey Vs. Destination

Kitty Boitnott, Ph.D., NBCT, RScP

Career Transition & Job Search Coach

The video today is not of me talking. It is a clip of an interview with  ABC Newscaster, Robin Roberts. She is talking about her battle with cancer and her realization that life is about the journey and not the destination.

Robin points out that we often have a tendency to delay our gratification because we are waiting for something better than we are experiencing right now to happen.

Consider:  Have you ever thought to yourself, "I'll be happy when I can finally retire?" Or, "If I could only find the right person to share my life with, then I would be happy?"

These are common enough thoughts, I believe, that many people can relate. We sometimes make the mistake of thinking that we are in need of delaying our happiness for some time off in the future.

The fact is, however, (and we all know this on a theoretical level but perhaps have not grasped it on a deeper level), there is no "future." There is only now.

If you can't be happy with your "now," chances are you won't be all that happy in your future because your future is based on what you are choosing to do with your "now."

This is not a new concept, but for me, it is one that I remind myself of periodically, and I am guessing I am not the only one who could use a reminder every once in a while.

So, what are you doing with your "now moments?"

Are you complaining a lot?

Do you grumble about "other people"?

Do you believe that everyone else is better off than you?

Is your life generally pretty lackluster?

Is it possible that you have gotten into a routine, and you go mindlessly from day-to-day without ever considering where your days are leading you?

Are you delaying until later--when you have your next job or are in your next relationship or you have reached your magical retirement age to experience happiness?

Are you putting off until "later" all of the things you want to do because it doesn't feel practical or possible to do the things you want NOW?

I feel very strongly about this because as I have shared with you before, my dad died in an accident. He was only 63 years old. He might have had a lot of years ahead of him, but because of the accident, he was killed instantly.

One moment he was here. The next he wasn't.

I was 34 years old when that happened, and it was devastating for me and my entire family. He was our moral compass. He was my hero. That accident happened over 30 years ago, and I still miss him every day.

When I got the news that he was gone, I remember thinking as I drove home to be with my mother of all the things he wanted to do before he got "too old." He loved to travel, for instance, and he wanted to see the Grand Canyon in person in the worst way. He was putting off that trip until my mother could retire, but she was 6 years younger than he, so he was waiting for the "right time." Needless to say, that time never came.

The point, of course, is not to delay that which you want to do with any sort of passion. You never know how much time you have to accomplish the things you want to accomplish. Make the most of each now moment and build the now moments into the future that you envision for yourself.

Life is both precious and short. It was Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "Life is a journey, not a destination." I urge you to make your journey count.

Until next time.

Would you like a FREE guide that will help you establish your goals for 2017? Let me know at kittyboitnott@gmail.com, and I will send you my "What Will You Accomplish in 2017?"