Common sense tells us that those who set goals will achieve more than those who don’t. Moreover, those who write their goals down will achieve more than those who don’t. When people do achieve big goals, they have a mountain top experience.
Think for a moment about the big goals you want to achieve in your life. Maybe it is … being your own boss, getting out of debt, completing a marathon, earning your master’s degree, or taking a long family vacation across the United States?
Regardless of the goal, you will feel AMAZING the moment you reach your goals – and RIGHTLY so! You deserve to feel satisfaction and accolades for conquering those milestones.
The purpose of this post is to get you to realize that you shouldn’t just celebrate the result, you should equally celebrate the journey you traveled to achieve your goal.
Following the Chicago Bears dominant Super Bowl performance in the 1986 Super Bowl (46-10 over the New England Patriots), a reporter was trying to get Coach Mike Ditka to pinpoint a specific moment in answer to the question, “What was the best part of this season?” The reporter even prompted Ditka by asking, “Was it the final seconds of the Super Bowl when you had actually won?”, “Was it in the 2nd quarter of the Super Bowl when it was apparent the Bears were going to win the game?”, “Was it during your playoff run when you could feel the team was clicking and knew they could go all the way?”. A reflective Ditka paused and replied, “The best part of this season was the whole season.” He recounted training camp, the pre-season, the regular season, and the playoff run. He talked about the satisfaction of watching the team came together, the joy of seeing the team improve, and the excitement of watching these Bears become one of the most dominant teams in the history of the franchise and of the NFL.
We would be wise to take a lesson from Coach Ditka. The greatest rewards in life are usually byproducts of sustained effort, commitment, and performance. You should be proud to finish a marathon because it is a great accomplishment; however, you should be equally proud of the 12 week training program you committed to leading up to the marathon. Relish in the satisfaction of having completed a 12 mile run in the rain early in the morning when the sun had not yet risen and no spectators were there to cheer you on. For many, race day is much easier than the training embarked on leading up to race day.
Success is treasuring the journey.
SuccessIsWorking
I loved this piece-especially the tie to marathon training-so true! You are talking to the heart of a once young girl who was use to setting a goal and plowing it down with fire. Nearly 13 years have passed and I have lost sight of myself a bit in the midst of my children’s goals. Thanks for inspiring me to get this piece of myself back! Keep writing and keep inspiring! Thanks John!
Thank you Amy. I understand. I have done a lot of cool stuff since I’ve turned 40 so the best is yet to come :o) Let me know if you want to go for a run sometime. You have a beautiful family and your kids are lucky to have you. Michael will be heading to Orlando, FL for the Fall Semester, as he has been accepted as a Disney College Intern! How cool is that???
Love this post, too! Many times, people forget to appreciate the ride and are too caught up in thinking about the end product. However, it’s important to remember the result would not be what it was without the journey that led up to it! 🙂
“Success is treasuring the journey.” <– that's a quote to remember!
Brittany,
Thank you! I believe you are one of those people who knows how to ‘stop and smell the roses’ :o) Have a spectacular week!