The key to happiness is forgetting your goals!

I am excited to share something that I have been trying out and experiencing recently, which I am sure you will find interesting. In this case, I am referring to goals and the importance of setting them as a guide for one’s life journey, as opposed to holding onto them for dear life.

Let me explain.

All of us are inclined to set goals, and for good reason. A goal is like a compass that tells you which direction to move in.

We may however  be counterproductive if we become obsessed with our goals and hang on to them. 

As an example, let me use a mountain climber. 

Joe is a mountain climber. His goal is to climb Mount Everest. Obviously, it is going to be a very tall mountain to climb, and he is going to have to prepare much more than normal. It will take him a few months before he is ready. Besides training and exercising, he needs to figure out a way to manage low altitudes, find a group to climb with, plan accommodations, meals, and so forth.

Getting ready to scale the mountain takes Joe about six months. He begins the final journey excited. Every day, he looks up at the peak and wishes he was there. The group reaches the highest peak accessible after a few days, celebrates, takes some pictures, rests a bit, then starts its descent.

Now that the first mountain has been conquered, Joe is thinking about the next. 

From Joe’s experience of scaling a mountain and achieving his goal, what can we learn? 

Joe’s experiences have taught me the following about life in general: 

• In our minds, we think achieving goals will make us happy, but the truth is that happiness does not last very long. You look for something new as soon as you reach the goal.
• Moreover, this happiness does not come because we achieved what we wanted, but rather because for a brief moment we are no longer seeking. Our next “desire” or “goal” has yet to emerge. For now, we are feeling good.
• As soon as we set a new goal, we put all of our energy into achieving it.
• Our happiness will last longer if we do something to prolong it.

Is there anything we can learn about setting and achieving goals from this? The biggest lesson I’ve learned is to set goals. Setting goals is important, but they should not be the focal point of our day-to-day lives. Goals are important, but the journey towards achieving them is more important. The end result won’t matter if we make the journey worthwhile, and you’ll find happiness no matter what!

It’s not the destination that matters, it’s the journey.

It’s important to make your journey count, make sure you enrich it with beautiful experiences, both good and bad, because that’s life. We need it all.

If you focus on the now instead of the goal tomorrow, you’ll be much happier and have a more fulfilled and content life.

Focusing on the now, rather than the goal tomorrow, will bring you so much happiness and fulfillment.