By: Henry Ukazu
Greetings my good friends,
It’s a great pleasure to be here once again. Please pardon my inability for not been able to write last week. I know some of you might be a little bit disappointed, honestly, it was due to circumstances beyond my control. I received so many several calls, emails and messages. I promise to do better next time. In whatever in life, I always look at the end in mind, in that way I will be properly guided on where my aim and vision in life lies. This is the more reason why I take my time in writing every week even when I am stressed up because I am addicted to sharing motivational and inspiring articles. As you all may know success in life has to do more with the journey rather than the destination.
Today, I chose to write on the relativity of journey and destination as facilitators of success. Just like any other aspect of life, life is indeed a process. You may heard of the saying success is more of a journey, rather than destination. Some other rational minds opine that the end justifies the means. These assertions are relatively true, however, it all depends on the angle you are looking at it from. We shall be comparing on both factors today but we shall be concentrating more energy on the process (journey).
It is an undisputable fact that in life the journey of a thousand miles begins with a step in the right direction. It is also a fact that little drops of water makes an ocean. Just like a leader needs a team to achieve success, same way success needs to be processed in order for it to be truly justified. With my little knowledge and understanding of mathematics, the process of arriving at the answer via the formulary generates more point more that the actual answer itself. True success doesn’t work in isolation. It works in harmony and unison with other component parts and characteristics which I call siblings and friends.
As human beings, sometimes we seem to neglect how far we have come in life. We are always eager to see what we lack as opposed to appreciating what we have. Human beings by nature can be ungrateful. The same analogy is applicable to the journey of success.
Let’s take the example of an accomplished author who is now a bestseller. The journey to the top wasn’t easy. He/she had mentors who inspired him/her to write the book, publishers, family members, friends and associates who contributed in one way or the other to the work a great success. To me, they are the real MVP’s as far as I am concerned.
They are the people who deserve the main accolades and should be appreciated, but sometimes some irrational beings tend to forget those people who contracted to their success. Also, if a student excels in life to an enviable positon in the world (President, CEO, Governor) etc. It will be nice for such person to remember his/her teacher who groomed him/her. It is on this context we shall be discussing about journey and destination to success.
It is interest to note that Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay literally went where no other human had been when they became the first people to reach the peak of Mount Everest.
Can you imagine what they must have felt? Pride, accomplishment, fulfilment. Question, did they achieve it alone? No, I guess. Think about the most important achievement in your life. Remember that feeling when you finally reached the summit of your academic career, political ambition, financial status and professional career. If you will agree with me, you didn’t do it alone, there were people behind it and it was truly a journey and process.
Last week I was listening to Joyce Meyers – a charismatic preacher. She was speaking on everyday life. In that message, she said true success lies in the little deeds and things you do daily as opposed to one major task you do. According to her you need to do small task nor matter how little it is in your daily routine which will add up to the goal you have in mind.
To understand how the journey of success really works, imagine yourself being a man or lady who needs a particular shape, it is expected that you’ll hit the gym at least three times a week and do some work out. You’ll follow up the also the process with a good hygiene. In fact, I personally feel the highest gym is in your kitchen. Let’s face it, it’s common to feel resistance when undertaking a new exercise habit. This is because there are several steps required. You have to pack your gym bag, travel to the gym, change into your workout clothes, warm up, exercise, warm down, shower, and change back into your normal clothes before traveling back home. This is the attitude and mindset which a rational mind desirous of making an impact should have. It is the process that defines the destination. Isn’t it true that you can easily spot a dedicated and discipline student or athletic. who is doing what he or she needs to be do in order to succeed in life? It’s always important to take note of the journey or inventory of all stocks.
It is quite unfortunate that many people regard the destination more than the journey. In as much I agree that the outcome/ finished product is very important, it is worthy to mention the sacrifice, challenges, failures, people and the experience that came it with it.
Let’s discuss some worthy points that will assist us in appreciating the role of process and journey to our dream destination.
Get specific
Having the end in mind is very important. Being specific helps your overall goal and roadmap in order to get to your destination. When you are specific, you will know what to focus on. One quality of every great man or woman is that they are very focused and specific in whatever they plan to achieve. Employers’ are always looking for specific beings to solve specific problems. The more specific you are, the easier it is for people to assist or work with you.
Break it down and start small
If you have a goal to accomplish, it is always better to start small and grown. You can do this by breaking it down and taking it bit and bits. Try to do littles things every day nor matter how little and stressful, it gives some level of satisfaction. Breaking the journey in pieces helps you to appreciate the journey.
Celebrate the progress and enjoy the journey
When it’s not all about the goal, you can take it all in (and take what you’ve learned with you).
When you have a big goal, it’s tempting to think you haven’t succeeded until you’ve achieved it. Otherwise, you might think you have failed forgetting that the set backs propels you to appreciate the progress and accomplishments that awaits you. According to Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, professor of Business Psychology at University College London, he observed that small milestones are powerful for seeing a change in the positive direction, noting that “the point is not to get better than others, it’s to get better than the old version of yourself.” Keep track of what you’ve accomplished with a done list, which is a log of the tasks you’ve completed. Seeing your progress boosts motivation, heightens positive emotions, and sustains your productivity. A Harvard study found that we spend almost 50 percent of our time thinking about the past and future, instead of focusing on the present, which leads to increased unhappiness
Reflect daily
Actively thinking and reflecting about your business, idea, product, academic major etc. Reflecting daily can help you plan very well. As a rule of thumb, it’s always helpful to set a sizeable amount of time during the day to reflect on the activities of the day before you sleep and also spending at least fifteen minutes of the day to mediate and think when you wake up every morning. By so doing you can motivate and inspire yourself when you think the lines are not adding up. You can do this by asking yourself “What is one step I can take today to get closer to my goal?” “What did I learn today?” You can also check in on a weekly or monthly basis to assess what you’ve gotten out of your journey thus far.
Whenever you are tempted to give up in life, always remember the words of Brian Tracy, “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from, all that maters is where you are going. The past is in the past for a reason, the present is here for a reason which is a gift to work with for tomorrow which is not guaranteed.
In conclusion, always bear in mind “Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. In the end it’s the courage to continue that counts.”
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