Finding Happiness in the Journey

Johnny was anxious to be big. He knew life would be better when he could see over the countertops. When the great day arrived and he realized his goal, he knew he was almost old enough to go to kindergarten, where the fun would begin.

After the first week of kindergarten, Johnny could not stop thinking about what the first graders were doing in their classroom. He couldn’t wait until he was in a real grade. After he arrived in first grade, he repeated the same pattern of fantasizing about the following year. He did this year after year. By the time Johnny was in the eighth grade, he knew he was only one year away from the ultimate life experience, high school. He wished each day away until high school finally arrived.

Johnny saw the upperclassman and knew that they had it made. His desire to be a king at school as a senior was great. That’s when life would really begin. During Johnny’s senior year he began to look into colleges. The thought of complete independence captured his attention. Every day of his senior year was spent longing for the freedom of college.

When John finally went off to university, he began learning about science. He couldn’t wait to someday be the head of a research company. He studied hard so he could finish his education as fast as possible. He graduated with honors and found a job.

He hated being at the bottom of the ladder. His boss seemed to have it made. Jonathon couldn’t wait to have people reporting to him. In a few years, he was promoted. He was close to having it all. He just needed to buy the new car he had his eye on. Then he would have it made.

He bought the car but felt something was missing. He thought, “if I can climb the ladder at work, I will be able to buy a house.” Owning a home would be the answer to what was missing. So Jonathon worked hard and received a promotion. He was able to buy a house. But the house felt empty. Jonathan realized that his happiness would finally arrive when he was married.

Being attractive and having a dynamic personality made it easy for Jonathon to meet people. After a brief time dating, Jonathon met Miss right and they married. But he thought there had to be more. Having children would be the most fulfilling thing life could offer. So they had two children. But the work of taking care of infants and toddlers was more than Jonathon expected.

When his children were out of diapers and able to talk, being a dad would finally be fulfilling, he knew. When his kids were able to walk and talk, Jonathon realized they were only a few years away from being able to play catch. He knew it would be the time when they would bond. As the children grew and Jonathon turned into a taxi driver for them and their friends, he became eager for the day when his kids could drive. When the kids were older and acted as teenagers act, Jonathon exclaimed to himself that he could see the light at the end of the tunnel when the kids would go off to college and he would have the house back the way it was before he had children.

That’s when it hit him.

For the first time, Jonathon realized that he wanted something he already had. He had never stopped to enjoy today; the realization hit him hard. What he was experiencing today was what he had looked forward to yesterday. Failing to understand his reality had kept him from living his life. With more than half of his life over, Jonathon had just started to live. It was time for him to meet the people in his life today, and to forget hankering after tomorrow until it becomes today.

Each day is filled with treasures we need to discover and enjoy. Challenges sometimes make those treasures hard to find, but when we put our faith in God and focus on the people around us rather than ourselves we can find fulfillment in our difficulties.

We can always improve, no matter who we are. If we stop growing, we will die emotionally and physically. However, at the same time, we need to find happiness in the journey. If we wait for ourselves to arrive at a state of perfection while we are on earth in order to attain happiness, we will never find it.

Dave Durand, Perpetual Motivation (Crossroad, 2006) 

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Dave Durand is the co-founder and CEO of the international media company Best Version Media. He is also an author, professional speaker and radio personality. If you thought this post was valuable then please "like" it and share with others! You can find more from Dave on his Facebook profile right here.