Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of appreciating the journey towards one's goals, rather than fixating solely on the end result, suggesting that the most impactful and memorable moments often lie in the process.

Abstract

The author reflects on the common advice given to young people to set and pursue a singular goal for success, noting their own experience with evolving interests and goals. They argue that the journey, filled with hard work, deviations, and personal growth, is more significant than the destination. The article encourages sharing both successes and the struggles that led to them, highlighting that memories of pain, love, suffering, and struggle are what truly resonate and stay with us. It criticizes the tendency of the current generation to project a perfect life on social media, contrasting it with the previous generation's willingness to share real-life experiences. The author concludes that the transformative moments of life often occur during the pursuit of goals, not just in achieving them, and that recognizing and cherishing these moments is crucial for fulfillment.

Opinions

The author believes that the process of striving for a goal is more valuable than the goal itself, as it shapes who we become.
Sharing the full spectrum of experiences, including the challenges and not just the successes, is important for personal growth and connecting with others.
The most vivid and impactful memories are often those that deviate from the norm, such as experiences of pain, love, suffering, and struggle.
The current generation's portrayal of life through social media is seen as overly sanitized, lacking the authenticity of past generations' storytelling.
Achieving a goal may not be the landmark event one expects; the true transformation occurs incrementally throughout the journey.
Recognizing and appreciating the small, seemingly mundane moments can lead to a more fulfilling life, as they may represent the most significant changes and achievements.

If You Think Your Life Sucks, Start Enjoying the Mediocre Moments — Here’s Why

It’s not the destination we remember, but the journey is what we cherish our whole lifetime.

Like every 16-year old teenager, I was also told to fix a goal in life and work towards it to be successful in life. I did so, but always stumbled and diverted from my goal. Not because I wasn’t interested in the goal I had set. I had found a new goal, something I was more drawn towards. My goal kept on changing for a few times each time I found a better one. Every time I discovered a new profession cum goal, I felt I had fallen in love with it. Sounds very millennial.

It is hard to tell whether I was too confused or too fixated to be successful in life. Not that I had any idea which one of them would work.

Share your true experiences with others

Now that I look back at my constantly changing interests I have a good laugh. But I have no insecurities sharing those with my co-workers or my younger siblings. Especially, I do like sharing my journey to achieve the achievement of success. The hard work I had put in the process. Managing to collect enough money to get a new pair of shoes for basketball, pondering on the training time I had to give, and many many more.

“For most people sharing their point of success is what they like the most. And who doesn’t cherish their success, everyone does. I am with you on this one. But, we forget to include the times of deviation from our goals. We need to cherish our destination goal a little less and our process of achieving it way more.”

Some memories stay forever

A scientific fact is that we tend to remember memories that are different than usual much more vividly and longer.

“Our memories of pain, love, suffering, and struggle are embedded in our minds forever.”

You need to share it with people around you and let them reap the fruits as well.

This generation is very skilled at painting a perfect picture. Their lives through the eyes of social media depict a very white-washed picture. Thankfully, the previous generation isn’t at all like that.

Our grandfather still recites the stories of proposing to your grandmother. Our parents often tell us about the hardships of their university days. They also don’t fail to point out the simplicity of life when they were young.

There are two reasons why they tell you all this:

They want you to know about life in practicality.
But also because these are the most vivid memories they can recall.

Now if you think that your goal will be a landmark thing in your life. Probably it may not be, you might already have experienced your landmark moment in the process of achieving that.

No paycheck can change things forever

Meanwhile, this whole time you and I were thinking that a paycheck of a million dollars will revamp your life. To our surprise, our lives were already being revamped slowly and steadily.

You might have become more hardworking, a body of patience, a more calculative mind, a loving soul, or a more organized person. Who knows what your mystique moment was. It may have and you failed to recognize that moment. I bet most of us do.

When we look back standing at the edge of success, we take cognizance of it, but it is never a defining moment in life.

“And as we grow older the realization sets in more that we were running after a bag of joy that never existed in the first place. Hence, it is all the more important to start liking our journey.”

Thus, if you feel that your life sucks, experience your mediocre moments with a smile. They might be your most prized possessions.