What Happens Once You Get What You Want?

June 15th, 2009          Email This Post       

“There are two things to aim at in life; first to get what you want, and after that to enjoy it. Only the wisest of mankind has achieved the second.” - Logan Pearsall Smith

There are a LOT of “successful” people – high power careers, massive salaries, gigantic houses, nice cars – or for those younger: nearly perfect grades, a full roster of extra curricular activities perfect for their college admission. They seem to have it made.

But are they happy? Do they enjoy what they have? Or have they just traded “success” for a lot of stress and hardly seeing their family? It’s quite nice to get what you have been striving for – but what happens then? Do you enjoy it, or do you relentlessly push on to the next level barely acknowledging what you have accomplished? This isn’t to say you can’t be successful and enjoy it – there are many who do – but you have to do it on purpose. Those who are relentlessly focused on doing better often don’t focus on enjoying and appreciating how far they have come.

There is no stopping point. By the time you “make it” you may finally realize that you will never reach the point that you are ultimately satisfied – once we reach a goal, we see something even better to try for.

So when do you enjoy what you have? Not at the end – the entire time. Enjoy the process, the feeling that you are doing better and moving towards a worthy goal. It’s a shame to spend 4 days climbing up Mt. Everest only to spend 1 hour there enjoying the view.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” - Earl Nightingale

While you may be focused on increasing what you can accomplish and working on your productivity, remember to stay balanced and enjoy it, too. You may find a funny thing happening – when you enjoy the journey, you will end up travelling better.

Take a look at where you are in your life. What can you enjoy, right now?

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