Consider the cliché: “It is not the destination, but the journey that matters” and compare it with how we are programmed to live our lives and you’d immediately notice the paradox that exists!
To enjoy the journey one should learn to live and enjoy the present, something which may entail catching that much craved extra hour of sleep on a chilly winter morning or stopping to smell the flowers or reaching home early to surprise a loved one, But then again – would doing either of these on a regular basis be advisable for your destination “Successful career”? Conventional wisdom advises to focus on your goal (destination) and stay away from Instant gratification (enjoying the journey) which may delay or distract you from your course!
Being happy en-route your journey would require you to be content with what you have but once can not forget about the importance of “fire-in-the-belly!” to reach the destination of success! While it is said that one should have the drive to continuously strive for something better – I could not help but wonder, “Where does this drive end? If we are always aspiring for something better, how will we ever commit to, and enjoy what we have – right here, right now!
What makes this puzzle more complex is the paradox poised by our horizons that keep changing. Consider this: While in college X thought it would be best to focus on studies etc and to enjoy once he gets a good job etc… but now, having got a good job, the carefree days of college were no where to be seen! But then again… had X willfully enjoyed those times, he/she might have never reached where he/she stands now! Now X stands again to make a choice to focus on his work now, and enjoy with his family once he reaches a certain level or… What should X Do?
In the movie Bluff Master, when Roy (Abhishek Bachchan) is upset on learning about his in-evitable death, Dr. Bhalerao (Boman Irani) explains to him, how the person who has lived the most is not the one with the most years but the one with the richest experiences. We only live once, but if we do it right, once is enough! Why do we realize the importance of the present, the journey only when it approaches an end? Wouldn’t it be great if people could get to live suddenly as often as they die suddenly?
While both points have their own merits, are we increasingly finding ourselves unable to solve these puzzles and strike a balance? If we keep postponing the “enjoyment” till the next milestone will we ever be able to truly enjoy our present but then if we keep enjoying our present would we ever reach our milestones? Is it even possible to achieve this balance? What should one do?
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