If not now, when?
For the past few years I've caught myself at the beginning of a familiar phrase: "I'll be happy when I ...."
Usually these words are followed by some type of goal or achievement:
I'll be happy when I ... finish school and have my degree.
I'll be happy when I ... pay off my debt.
I'll be happy when I ... get a better paying job.
I'll be happy when I ... finally take that trip to Europe.
I'll be happy when I ... reach my perfect weight.
I believe all of these goals are attainable but how long will it take to achieve them? Who knows. It's like an endless car ride and I'm stuck in the backseat asking the driver, "are we there yet?" And I know a thing or two about long car rides. Ultimately, you reach your destination but the drive never seems as long when finally you arrive. You forget how interminable the journey felt and end up basking in the glory of reaching the finish line. However, most would argue the journey is the most important part.
Take, for instance, the daily journey to work. Unless you LOVE your job, you probably hate the commute to work. Even if you work out of your home, those few steps from the bedroom into the office seem incredibly hard to take. Me? I'm usually a late riser. My alarm goes off and I press the snooze button (at least three times) and then I wake up in a panic when I realize I'm already 20 minutes late. Ugh. That means I have to jump in the shower, plan an outfit that matches and doesn't make me look stupid, pack my lunch and scarf down breakfast or make a coffee run before work. This usually translates into me driving 80 mph on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic and generally making the other drivers around me feel uncomfortable.
I get so caught up in when I get to work that I completely gloss over the now of the situation. However, I realized there is one thing that can highlight the now of my drive: being in complete control of the radio. There are a few morning shows that I love to switch between as I hurtle perilously down the road. Most importantly, no one is sitting in the passenger seat and judging me by my poor taste in radio morning show fodder or the fact that I'm sometimes laughing out loud.
This may seem like a terribly simple solution. It probably will not change the fact that most people look toward a promising future when their current situation seems so mundane but it's a start. I have dreams and goals for my life but if I'm not enjoying what I'm doing to obtain them, the time I've spent seems wasted. What if I don't achieve any of my goals? Will my life be wasted? No. I have a great family, great friends, great co-workers and that is the now. I'm a funny person who can laugh at myself even when I'm facing a sisyphean task and that is what is important.
I felt the need to write this down because I've been caught up in the when I mentality lately. It usually hits around the holidays, when I stare down the path of another year and the possibility of more (un)attainable goals. So take it from me, put the pedal to the metal, crank up the radio and try to enjoy the NOW.
Usually these words are followed by some type of goal or achievement:
I'll be happy when I ... finish school and have my degree.
I'll be happy when I ... pay off my debt.
I'll be happy when I ... get a better paying job.
I'll be happy when I ... finally take that trip to Europe.
I'll be happy when I ... reach my perfect weight.
I believe all of these goals are attainable but how long will it take to achieve them? Who knows. It's like an endless car ride and I'm stuck in the backseat asking the driver, "are we there yet?" And I know a thing or two about long car rides. Ultimately, you reach your destination but the drive never seems as long when finally you arrive. You forget how interminable the journey felt and end up basking in the glory of reaching the finish line. However, most would argue the journey is the most important part.
Take, for instance, the daily journey to work. Unless you LOVE your job, you probably hate the commute to work. Even if you work out of your home, those few steps from the bedroom into the office seem incredibly hard to take. Me? I'm usually a late riser. My alarm goes off and I press the snooze button (at least three times) and then I wake up in a panic when I realize I'm already 20 minutes late. Ugh. That means I have to jump in the shower, plan an outfit that matches and doesn't make me look stupid, pack my lunch and scarf down breakfast or make a coffee run before work. This usually translates into me driving 80 mph on the highway, weaving in and out of traffic and generally making the other drivers around me feel uncomfortable.
I get so caught up in when I get to work that I completely gloss over the now of the situation. However, I realized there is one thing that can highlight the now of my drive: being in complete control of the radio. There are a few morning shows that I love to switch between as I hurtle perilously down the road. Most importantly, no one is sitting in the passenger seat and judging me by my poor taste in radio morning show fodder or the fact that I'm sometimes laughing out loud.
This may seem like a terribly simple solution. It probably will not change the fact that most people look toward a promising future when their current situation seems so mundane but it's a start. I have dreams and goals for my life but if I'm not enjoying what I'm doing to obtain them, the time I've spent seems wasted. What if I don't achieve any of my goals? Will my life be wasted? No. I have a great family, great friends, great co-workers and that is the now. I'm a funny person who can laugh at myself even when I'm facing a sisyphean task and that is what is important.
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| In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a king punished by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this throughout eternity. |
I felt the need to write this down because I've been caught up in the when I mentality lately. It usually hits around the holidays, when I stare down the path of another year and the possibility of more (un)attainable goals. So take it from me, put the pedal to the metal, crank up the radio and try to enjoy the NOW.
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