Out of the blue, my 10-year old son Max says to me, “Dad, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey”. That’s a whole lot of wisdom from a young man that we all should take-in and carefully consider.
As leaders, we strategize with desired end-result in mind. We take action steps each day to get us closer to that end result, however, we rarely take the time to enjoy the journey to our end destination. It is often packed with stress and perceived (sometimes real) external pressures to get there as soon as possible.
Life in essence is very similar. When we are kids, we want to be teenagers. Once we are teenagers, we want to be young adults. Somewhere along the way, it transverses to wanting to be younger and more agile again. Nonetheless, it’s about the end destination and rarely about the journey.
As positude leaders and as individuals, we need to reverse our thinking by setting BIG goals and learn to enjoy each SMALL step along the way.
We need to slow down and smell the roses as my mother would say! It’s vitally important to understand and appreciate that we only get to live one life. On average, we live to 76-79 years of aga, therefore, we should not count our lifetime in years but instead in moments, sometimes as small as seconds. It’s that first step or the many firsts thereafter that can’t be recreated. It’s those moments in life that we should enjoy to the greatest extend possible.
At work it is no different. We need to soak up the moments by being mindfully present albeit in a conversation with a peer, interaction with the one patient in front of you or the teaching/learning opportunities that present itself each day.
At the end of the day, you will feel more fulfilled when you enjoy the journey towards your end destination. It’s the little things that matter most.
-W