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A week ago, I was in Miami for work. I had an open day on Sunday and decided to get up early and drive down to Key West for the day. I’d never been to the Florida Keys and wanted to see them firsthand.
It’s about a 3-hour drive each way without traffic, so I spent a lot of time in the car that day. I got to Key West, wandered around for a while, stopped to see the closest point to Cuba (pictured), paid homage to Jimmy Buffett and Ernest Hemingway, and turned back toward Miami to return my rental car.
When I met up with my work colleagues and shared what I’d done that day, they expressed surprise that I’d driven all that way for such a short visit to Key West. I told them I’d enjoyed the drive, and that was one of the main reasons I’d done the trip.
The message? It's not the destination, it’s the journey. It’s a timeless adage, and it wonderfully encapsulates the essence of living a fulfilling and meaningful life, but it applies to our careers as well. All too often, we become obsessed with achieving goals and reaching milestones, and we need a reminder to appreciate the present moment and find joy in the process of striving toward our aspirations.
At its core, focusing on the journey itself challenges the notion that success is solely defined by reaching a particular endpoint or achieving a specific outcome. Instead, it emphasizes the importance of embracing the path along the way – the ups and downs, the challenges, and triumphs, the growth and self-discovery, and the relationships we build. More than the ends, it’s these factors that more so shape who we ultimately become.
Inherent in thinking this way is that life – and work – are unpredictable. Despite our best-laid plans and aspirations, we often encounter unexpected detours and obstacles along the way. We make mistakes. The boss we love leaves the company. We lose our jobs. Our companies are acquired or restructured. The economy takes a downturn. The list goes on and on. However, it’s how we navigate these twists and turns, how we adapt and grow in the face of adversity, that truly defines our character and shapes our identity.
Moreover, focusing too narrowly on the destination has the potential to blind us to the richness of the journey itself. It’s all too easy to become fixated on achieving certain goals or acquiring specific trophies, believing that they’ll bring us happiness and fulfillment. Yet, we often find that once we reach these milestones, the satisfaction we experience is temporary, and we quickly set our sights on the next target. I know I am often guilty of this, whether it’s looking to the next project, the next race, or the next summit.
When we learn to embrace the journey, we discover that true fulfillment is not in the attainment of accomplishments or rewards (the so-called extrinsic motivation) but in the process of pursuing our passions and dreams (the intrinsic motivation). Adopting a mindset centered on the journey allows us to cultivate gratitude for the present moment. Instead of constantly striving for some distant goal, we learn to find joy and fulfillment in the here and now.
Ultimately, focusing on the journey allows us to shift our perspective and adopt a more mindful and intentional way of working and living. By enjoying the moment, and by finding meaning and purpose in the process of pursuing our passions, we can cultivate a deeper sense of fulfillment and contentment that transcends the fleeting pursuit of external success. So as you navigate the winding roads of work and life – or that long drive to Key West – remember to soak up the experience, for it’s in the journey that we create who we are.
JR and the PathWise team
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