An Endless Chase That Kills Your Happiness
A reminder for you to pause and celebrate all the achievements that felt unattainable to your younger self.
Last week, I came face to face with the idea of ‘Endlessly chasing the next big thing’ in my life. All my life, I have been a multitasker with an annoying problem of never knowing when to stop. Although I believe that I have left that mindset far behind in my life now, I still find myself subconsciously slipping back into it from time to time.
Take a minute and think about the dreams and goals you had 5 years ago. Now think about all the times you felt uncertain about achieving these goals. Fast forward to the present moment. Not everything may have turned out exactly the way you had planned. But for everything that did, how often did you pause and pat yourself on the back for achieving these goals that seemed impossible at some point in your life?
When we are in high school, all that matters is that we get into the college of our dreams. But getting there doesn't guarantee happiness. The very next moment, we start worrying about making new friends and finding our place in a sea full of people. The thought of dealing with rejection terrifies us. Landing a dream job is all that matters at a point. If we manage to secure something even remotely similar to what we desire, most of us are quick to hop onto the search for “something better.”
The reality is, when we set goals in life, most of which we see as make-or-break moments, we normalise them so much that by the time we actually get there, we forget to pause and celebrate the relentless effort that led us to these goals. We’re too busy thinking about what’s next. It’s crazy to think that something that meant so much to us 5 years ago holds no value now because the worries of the future take over.
This week, I encourage you to pause and celebrate all that you’ve achieved so far in life, no matter how little that achievement is. If it meant something to you, take a moment to remind yourself of how far you’ve come from the time when everything seemed out of reach. The future can wait a little bit longer! :)