A Journey

As you come out of recovery from any intense period (aka busy season), you enter into a season that may be less intense, but still full of activities and responsibilities. Will you enjoy the journey?

Journey Past

For the next four months, you have annual or semi-annual reviews, continuing education opportunities, colleague and client connections and other firm responsibilities. In addition, you have a full personal life—family vacations, personal interests and other activities that beckon your time and energy.

You have a lot going on, don’t you? If you aren’t careful, you will look up and the summer will be over and wonder where the weeks went. Holy smokes!

Journey Present

To protect yourself from this unfortunate demise, there is a popular phrase that really captures it all.

Simply—enjoy the journey. Yes, it’s that simple.

But I’m not the one to write about it. You see, I have an affliction, described in a phrase coined by Phillip Berry, entrepreneur and author. He called it being “arrival-driven.” That’s me. Haahh, is it ever me. He wrote,

“One might argue that we are arrival-driven, that it’s all about getting where we want to go. We’re impatient for completion. Give me my destination so I can begin to enjoy it. I suppose that’s how it is with any goal. Whether it’s time, money, or personal sacrifice, the price we pay is along the way. The payback happens at the end, when we’ve finally arrived.”

I’ve spent the better part of my adult life trying to moderate this affliction. And I’ve made great strides. But every so often, I can still get focused on the end that I forget to enjoy the time and effort—the journey—to get there. I get impatient, frustrated, even fearful that I won’t arrive or accomplish. It only tenses me up so that I stress and fret all the more. Grasping more tightly, I grit and grind to the point that I’m a hot mess with a sore jaw and pounding headache.

But most of the time now, I remember…

Enjoy the journey. Take a breath, calm down, and experience the present moment.

Journey Next

As you enter into this next season, remember to enjoy your journey. You know your own tendencies and what you must do.  You have a few months. It starts now. What can you do today? This week? This month?

Whatever you do, enjoy the journey.