“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the ourcome” – Arthur Ashe
We went to see Mad Max: Fury Road the other night, and while being entertained, I was really struck by her quest and mission, “as long as I can get to X, everything will be ok.” The quest of life tends to focused on a specific goal or final result, no matter how big or small – get the promotion, move to another location, or buy that new toy. When we have a goal in sight, most of the pieces of our life tend to rally around supporting that one thing.
In the meantime, everything else becomes secondary to attaining that goal. I’ll spend time with my friends when I finish this school quarter. Or, I’ll go on that trip after I reached my goal of financial stability. In our mindset, everything will change and we’ll be able to relax after that goal is accomplished. This isn’t necessarily true because once that destination is reached; another one replaces it. We’re chasing after a Utopia that doesn’t exist.
Chasing after the “if only … “ or “once I have …” keeps us in a constant state of chasing after something. This is a state of being we program ourselves to be in. What we believe is then supported by each and every cell and tissue in our body in order to direct us to that end goal. The body takes on our belief systems, and supports us to be able to reach these goals, and it does eventually take a toll on our tissues and systems.
I know “it’s about the journey, not the destination” is a commonly known phrase, though it is taken for granted and not truly lived. Learning HOW to venture on that road every day is more of the quest then reaching the holy grail. We begin to live our lives on a constant marathon, and forget to give ourselves breaks.
And how does this affect the body? This constant chase after an endless tomorrow is a mental, emotional, and physically marathon without the preparation and training. Even the mental and the emotional aspects impact the physical well-being. Everything is interconnected and functioning as one unit. This is why you may feel exhausted and wiped out after a long day at work. Does it feel like you’ve been working out all day, but you rarely left your desk? The body was working overtime to help support your mind thinking, processing, problem solving, communicating.