If there’s one thing that I wish to impart to those who have started down the path toward the fulfillment of their dreams, it is this: appreciate the journey. 

One of the traps that many people fall into is focusing too much on the end goal in terms of only thinking that fulfilling it is a sign of success and disregarding everything else. People get discouraged because they don’t see the accomplishment of their end goal in the near future.  It does take time. 

This kind of thinking is further exacerbated when people ask you where your results are. Show me the proof they say or what have you accomplished so far? You’ll find that the majority of the people outside of you only care about what you’ve done, but don’t let that kind of thinking get to you because it can backfire.  We need a pat on the back every now and then, even though our final objective has not been fulfilled.  The exact prescription for those pats on the backs that will keep you going is the journey. 

Every now and then along your journey, just sit down and take into account what you’ve done so far.  You’ll be surprised at how far along you’ve come.  You will have picked up a rich cornucopia of knowledge, contacts, skills, opportunities to test your resolve, experiences of triumphing over obstacles, etc., that you never would have got before had you not undertaken this journey of yours. 
 
Make no doubt about it though, mistakes will be made along the journey.  You might fall into heavy debt if you were trying to start your own business, you might go bankrupt, you might get rejected hundreds of times, people will mock and ridicule you, but that’s all part of the process.  All of this is meant for two things.  To separate those who really want it from those who don’t and to see if you learn from the lessons that are hidden within each mistake. 

Every experience along your journey is meant to teach you something to propel you forward.  Each time you feel depressed, it’s a sign to remind yourself of why you’re doing what you’re doing, to further reinforce the drive in you that keeps you going.  Each time you encounter an obstacle, it’s a test to see how bad you want it and how smart you are in figuring out what to learn from it.  Each time you are ridiculed from friends and family for following your dream, it’s a test to see how firm your foundation is and it presents another opportunity to fortify it even further. 

If you focus too much on getting to the end goal, you’ll misinterpret all the things that happen along your journey.  You’ll become frustrated because the end goal you so desperately want to achieve is not coming as quickly as you would like it to.  Step back, breathe and realize that everything is part of the journey.  Appreciate it.  Be thankful for it.  The mistakes, the setbacks, the small victories, the lessons learned, the new people you meet, the new knowledge you’ve gained, but most importantly of all, appreciate the fact that you found the courage to start and advance toward the direction of your dream.  You’ve chosen the path that few take, the path of living YOUR dreams, not the ones that others have laid before you. 

Appreciating the journey is a powerful frame to keep you going.  It implies a beginning, middle, and end.  You’ve already started and now you’re just in the middle and the end is inevitable.  Keeping in mind our journey constantly reminds and encourages us that we we will get there.   

Appreciate the journey because it is teaching you everything you need in order to get to your end destination.  Don’t get discouraged because you equate your achievement with the attainment of your goal. You are already achieving.  If you take stock as to what you’ve learned and accomplished so far, you’ll realize that you’ve underestimated yourself, that the limits you imposed only exist in your mind, and that you are truly making progress. Nothing breeds progress like progress.

The longer you stay on the journey, the wiser, the stronger, and the more determined you will become.

Then when you accomplish your dream, when you make it a reality, you will come to realize one thing and that is: the journey has truly SERVED YOU.

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