It’s not what you do in life that is most important. I believe it’s the how and why that are much more significant.
We live in a society that praises people for their accomplishments. It’s not that I find anything wrong with that, but I think a lot of us tend to get caught up with the end result, and not how we get there.
My guess is most of you have heard the saying, “life is a journey.” It’s that journey that’s most important. At the end of the day, if everything leading up to your “accomplishment” was miserable, what makes it so great?
What’s so great about going to an Ivy League school, if you stayed up all night miserably doing your work? Why is losing weight a good thing if instead of enjoying taking better care of yourself, you hated every bite and workout along the way? Who says having a super important, high paying job is worth celebrating, if you are stressed out every single day? How worth it is it to win an award, if leading up to it, you didn’t feel fulfilled with the work you were doing?
This is where the ‘how’ comes into play. There is a direct correlation with how we show up in life, and how easily we reach our goals. Life doesn’t have to be so hard, and when we show up with enthusiasm and purpose, things can feel effortless. Do you feel excited working towards a goal, or depleted? If depleted is your go to feeling when working towards something, you may want to question why you are doing what you’re doing in the first place.
The ‘why’ we do the things we do, is the next thing to consider. Over the years, I have heard a few people I admire ask the question, “Do you do things for a cause, or for applause?” I recently heard it again, and think it’s really interesting to think about. Are you working towards something for you, or for the approval of others? Are you striving to reach a goal so that people tell you how amazing you are? Are you posting that picture to see how many likes you receive, and are you consumed with how many friends or followers you have? Are you trying to lose weight so more people tell you how great you look? Are you describing your job a certain way that you think will impress people? If you find yourself nodding as you read these (and most of us have at times done things for applause), I just have to say, life is a whole lot better when you aren’t relying on outside validation in order to feel good about yourself.
Sure, it feels good to receive compliments, but are you actively fishing for them? Do you need them in order to feel good? Putting work out into the world that has purpose (I’m not talking Nobel Prize, purpose; I just mean anything that feels good to you), allows you to feel good about yourself regardless if anyone acknowledges it or not. Being yourself no matter what, even if you have qualities that don’t fit “the norm,” makes life feel awesome. If I wrote for the sole purpose of receiving comments and new subscribers, my self esteem could potentially diminish any time I didn’t receive any positive feedback. Instead, I choose to write because I want to share with others, some of the things that have helped me live a happier life. If I touch someone, and they choose to let me know, it feels great, but my self worth is not dependent on it.
Take a moment to think about how and why you do the things you do. Wouldn’t life be more fun if you showed up for you? Wouldn’t it be more enjoyable if you made an effort to appreciate each moment? The ‘how’ and the ‘why’ comprise the journey, while the ‘what’ is the destination. Working towards a goal can feel fun and exciting when you chose to make it so. Being able to be grateful for the process, allows you to be more present, detach from the outcome, reach your goals with more ease, and overall, feel better more often! Sounds good to me 🙂
Happy day!!
