Learn to Enjoy the Work

I was having a conversation with my brother the other day about self-improvement. He mentioned that he looks forward to the slow, cold months in the winter following the holiday season.

He said that there is a certain excitement for getting back on track with his goals and ambitions. Taking time off for the holiday season to relax and enjoy time with family is wonderful. But there is a newness to getting back to making progress towards something personally meaningful.

To me it doesn’t diminish the times we let loose and enjoy life. While it feels different, it becomes enjoyable in a unique way.

To see us hitting milestones and focusing on discipline and taking the difficult steps forward provides meaning to life. Without it we traverse from instant gratification to overindulgence without balance. Soon we fall so far behind that it becomes a cinderblock wall in our way.

But when we are making strides and moving forward, the small setbacks become small speedbumps. They don’t derail us. They don’t cause depression and stress over the path we are taking. They simply remind us how fast we are traveling.

When I was in college, I heard a professor explain to us Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. At the top is self-actualization. The professor explained that those who achieve this level enjoy the journey over the destination.

I thought he was crazy. The reason I wanted money was to enjoy spending the money. The reason I was getting the degree was to have a college degree. The reason I exercised was to be fit. For me, it was all about the destination. The journey was the annoying work we had to do to get the prize at the end.

Hearing that those self-actualized individuals enjoyed the journey seemed ludicrous. But with time I began to understand. My brother’s comments to me shows that he understands also.

Life isn’t about a destination. The life system isn’t designed for a final ending. In fact, life typically gets more physically and mentally difficult with advanced age. We lose friends and loved ones. We gain wisdom but may lose our mental capacity.

That is why life is about the journey. It is this ongoing voyage that matters. We should learn to enjoy the difficult moments and the challenges. We should embrace the learning and push past the devastating moments knowing that it all embodies the overall system.

Hopefully you find time to sit back in wonderment of your progress and the strides you make towards your goals. Those times when we grow our will to overpower our weaknesses and hit those milestones can feel just as wonderful as the times we put them aside to take part in the joy and charm of life.

For more on enjoying the journey, check out Scott’s book, You Can’t Surf from the Shore at Amazon.