Misunderstanding The Journey

The Journey you naturally embark on when you set a goal, chase a pursuit, or follow a passion is misunderstood. There are countless sayings telling you to focus on The Journey, not the destination, or that if you fall in love with The Journey, the destination will surprise you. Even ideas that the destination isn’t important so long as you love The Journey. People assume that it’s The Journey where all of the growth, learning, and metamorphic changes occur. They are right. The Journey is where you build yourself into the person capable of realizing and reaching the destination you seek. What is misunderstood about The Journey is the prevalence of the goals you attach to the journey.

Without goals being your North Star, there is no Journey. Disregarding the goals you have and focusing only on The Journey casts you into a starless night. You are blind. You’re unable to see in the dark and are scrambling, just hoping for the sun to rise. The goals you had at the start of your Journey are the reason you started. They are the reason for embarking. By only focusing on The Journey, you lose clarity and sight of what you are seeking. You can get lost. The goals are the guiding light. They are what you should focus on when you are following The Journey. They are what will pull you out of difficult situations and feelings of disarray.

You need goals just like you need The Journey. The goals are a lasting source of direction and meaning to the process you follow along The Journey. You can fall in love with The Journey as much as you want but losing sight of your goals is how you fall out of The Journey. You can hate The Journey as much as you want and it will be the goals you set at the beginning that will continue to pull you closer to the end. The goals are much more than your North Star. They are the reason why. They are your map to the future you desire. They are the building blocks for everything The Journey entails.

Setting goals is how you start The Journey. Realizing your goals is how you finish The Journey. Forgetting about the goals as you embrace, or endure, The Journey is the exact recipe for never reaching the destination you seek. Enjoy the learnings, growth, and changes that happen on your Journey. Fall in love with The Journey. But never, lose sight of the original reason for embarking on your Journey. The goals will guide you, from start to finish.