Journey v. Destination
When Theo Epstein first arrived to Chicago in October 2011, as the President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs, I remember hearing him use the phrases “trust the process” and “five-year plan.” Mr. Epstein was essentially saying, "embrace the journey because it will lead to the destination" (ultimately the World Series).
I embraced the moments - trusted the process - and watched teary-eyed as the Cubs won the World Series - for the first time in 108 years - on November 2, 2016.
Despite the good that can come, people seem to waffle between being “journey-minded” and being “destination-minded.”
On a 16-hour road trip, with three young children in the vehicle, a parent swings heavily to the side of “destination-minded.” At the end of the school year, teachers (and students) are absolutely focused on the destination.
Too often we glaze over the journey - sometimes 10-15 miles per hour over the speed limit - in order to quickly get to the destination to what lies beyond the hear-and-now.
What if there are times when the journey makes the destination more amazing? What if embracing the present brings more fulfillment to the future?
This morning, I went on a 3-mile run with my five-year old son. From the first step, I looked at my TomTom Sport Watch numerous times to see how many more miles we had to go, and every time I looked at him he was picking a flower, looking at a tree, or using a curb as a balance beam. He heard me frequently say, “not much farther, buddy;” however, I heard him say, “it’s a nice day today, Dad” and “I really like spending time with you.”
He chose to focus on the present, while I showed that my focus was the future.
Halfway through the run, we sat on a bench overlooking a pond. We talked about turtles and birds and trees and the sun. This seemingly ordinary conversation reminded me of the power of the present, the moment, the process and its ability to make the past fade and the future not seem as important. We can each strive to embrace today - squeeze every amazing experience out of it - knowing that at the very worst we could experience something new and different, something as refreshing as looking at the world through the eyes of a five-year old, and if that’s the worst it will make for a truly incredible day.
[I would love to hear what you do or have done to embrace the moments of life. Use the comment section below or click here to tell your story.]
I embraced the moments - trusted the process - and watched teary-eyed as the Cubs won the World Series - for the first time in 108 years - on November 2, 2016.
Despite the good that can come, people seem to waffle between being “journey-minded” and being “destination-minded.”
On a 16-hour road trip, with three young children in the vehicle, a parent swings heavily to the side of “destination-minded.” At the end of the school year, teachers (and students) are absolutely focused on the destination.
Too often we glaze over the journey - sometimes 10-15 miles per hour over the speed limit - in order to quickly get to the destination to what lies beyond the hear-and-now.
What if there are times when the journey makes the destination more amazing? What if embracing the present brings more fulfillment to the future?
This morning, I went on a 3-mile run with my five-year old son. From the first step, I looked at my TomTom Sport Watch numerous times to see how many more miles we had to go, and every time I looked at him he was picking a flower, looking at a tree, or using a curb as a balance beam. He heard me frequently say, “not much farther, buddy;” however, I heard him say, “it’s a nice day today, Dad” and “I really like spending time with you.”
He chose to focus on the present, while I showed that my focus was the future.
Halfway through the run, we sat on a bench overlooking a pond. We talked about turtles and birds and trees and the sun. This seemingly ordinary conversation reminded me of the power of the present, the moment, the process and its ability to make the past fade and the future not seem as important. We can each strive to embrace today - squeeze every amazing experience out of it - knowing that at the very worst we could experience something new and different, something as refreshing as looking at the world through the eyes of a five-year old, and if that’s the worst it will make for a truly incredible day.
[I would love to hear what you do or have done to embrace the moments of life. Use the comment section below or click here to tell your story.]
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