They say, “The chase is always more fun than the kill.” The journey to reach your goal will more often than not, be more fulfilling than the goal itself. Those on a weight loss journey, may feel their life is purposeless as soon as they hit their goal weight, or an actress reaches the pinnacle of success, only to realise that what she thought would feel like a whole other joyous realm, is nothing but a few tiny moments in time, filled with triumph and euphoria – nothing less, nothing more.
According to me, the concept of happiness is an overrated one. We spend years chasing it; only to find that once we land it – it’s as elusive in nature, as a beautiful butterfly that sits on our shoulders when we’re still, but flutters away as soon as there’s the slightest movement. We prioritise the goal of reaching a state of permanent contentment so much, that all the wonderful, raw and real moments that are actually the juicy parts of life, are often overlooked and undervalued in the process. Think about it, if there was no struggle, would the prize really seem like a victory?
Goal setting is a term embedded into the modern human psyche. All my growing years, and even now, I’m told that without it, the final win has no proper cornerstone. So I applied that – in my career, in my love life and everything else in between. I set a definite mark, and the only way I’d know I reached it, was when I’d feel immense happiness, and of course, a relief of some sort, right? Well, sadly, it’s not that simple. When it came to my career, my one major, broad goal was to become a writer – and I checked that off my list, almost 5 years ago. When it came to love, the only goal was to score myself a man who valued me, and shared similar priorities as I do – another check. Then of course, there are the trillion other little goals in between, like buying that first car, dropping 10 kilos before Christmas and being able to travel to at least 3 countries between 2013 to 2019 – again, all done. Yet, I find myself feeling rather empty on days. But that wasn’t supposed to happen right? If I’ve met all the goals I had set for myself, aren’t I supposed to have achieved happiness and satisfaction by now? Well I’d have thought so, but I didn’t. Not until I set new goals, and began another journey towards finding that damned coveted thing called “happiness.”
The truth is, life never goes according to how we plan it. What upholds it is not absolute, permanent happiness, because “absolute, permanent happiness” is a myth. Instead, it’s the passion towards a purpose that gives meaning to life. It’s the journey that we relish, and it’s the process that presents us with moments that are worth it – moments that keep us going in hope that we’d find similar ones or better ones again.
What is happiness? It’s a fragile moment that needs to be replenished. Focus on the journey, happiness is only a fleeting moment.
