The Importance Of Enjoying The Journey

"Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!" Fitzhugh Milan.

You have, I hope, very clear goals for your career, your business, and your team. You know why you want to achieve those goals and you know what action to take next to get you there.

But maybe you've been travelling the road that leads there for a while now (or perhaps you're even still trying to find the right road).

Are you feeling a little jaded, tired and low on motivation for those everyday tasks and challenges - those potholes in your road?

Maybe you're beginning to think there are too many potholes or they are too big and take too much effort to overcome.

Are you so absorbed in trying to get past each pothole that you are no longer able to see the wood for the trees?

It's vital to enjoy the journey. If you don't you will be stressed, de-motivated and unproductive. You will reach the point where even if there were an obvious solution to something right under your nose - you'd miss it.

The first step is to change your point of focus. Switch from concentrating on how to complete the next task or solve the next problem and focus instead on the goal, the end of the road.

Make certain you have complete clarity on what the end of this road looks, feels and sounds like. What precisely is the desired outcome?

Make certain you and everyone involved understand why you want to reach your goal and what it's going to do for you all and your business when you get there. There has to be a vitally important 'why' - otherwise what's the point in travelling this road at all?

Concentrate on why you're doing all this and your motivation to complete the tasks and navigate the obstacles will start to rise.

Imagine being at the end of the road looking back. Look how much everyone involved has grown in experience and knowledge. You know that should you come across similar potholes on the next road you'll traverse them easily, and they'll look a lot smaller than they did before! So small in fact that you might not even notice them!

It always helps to use someone as a sounding board. Someone who can raise your motivation levels, help you find the answers and keep you on track. Ask yourself:

- Who would be the best person to talk to about this?

- What could they do for me?

- How am I going to contact them?

- When am I going to contact them?

Now ask yourself:

- Is this still the right road?

- What needs to happen for me to enjoy this journey?

- What actions am I going to take accordingly?

- When am I going to take them?

Goals are important, but so is enjoying the journey. It might be worth allowing the odd detour. If you are in Portsmouth and your goal is to be in Aberdeen, remove the blinkers that make you concentrate solely on travelling further north for a minute. Have a day's sightseeing in London, a long weekend in the Yorkshire dales or even a week in Ireland. As long as you return to your route at the same place you left it and at a time that guarantees you are still happy with your progress, then go for it. You can only benefit.

Enjoying the journey is just as important as reaching the destination. After all we spend much more time on the road than we do arriving!