Is “Life Is a Journey, not a Destination” Actually Helpful?
Spoiler alert: you need a destination.
You’ve heard this before many, many, many times.
It’s almost a mantra you tell yourself now when life gets hard, when you’re not where you want to be, when things are not going your way, etc.
It’s just a phrase you’ve been taught to remind yourself about to not focus so much on your goal, and make the process more enjoyable and less stressful.
I’ve noticed when people tell themselves this, they might think it’s their sign to sit back and forget their goals or at least not prioritize them as much. This is where black-and-white thinking can take a toll on your life and dreams. Just because you want to slow things down (which is not a bad thing), doesn’t mean it’s time to say goodbye to your goals.
So is focusing on the “journey” really that helpful? and the “destination” is just useless?
Not so fast.
You need a destination to have a purposeful journey. If you’re just having a journey, you’re not really going anywhere. You really are just “going with the flow.” If you’re the ambitious type, this won’t flow so well with you.
You need to have a destination to make the journey worthwhile.
Yes make the process enjoyable to reach that destination and there are many ways to do that such as gaining better habits, using identity-based habits versus outcome-based ones, and implementation intentions. Most of life will consist of a journey which is why it’s important to make the process sustainable.
But don’t totally brush off the destination, especially if you know what you want.
Sign up for more mindset pieces like this here. I bring you more of this plus health tips including fitness and nutrition.
