Appreciate the Means to an end

Often in life we get pushed and pulled in so many different directions that we lose sight of the importance. Instead of understanding where we are headed, we wonder, “what is the point?”

It may be when your boss decides to change up the team, giving you tons of extra work that you feel is meaningless. It could be the corporate office hammering on yet another time-consuming idea that probably won’t work.

But it extends beyond work. It could be the frustration with having car repairs, crabby children, inflation, politics, etc.

The best thing to do in these situations is to pull your head up and try to view it from a different perspective. Sure, right now might not be fun. Heck, it might not be pleasant and might actually be painful. It might seem unnecessary.

But often those difficult moments are simply part of the whole. They are part of the means to get to the end. They don’t have value in-and-of themselves. But they help provide the necessary detail to give it all context. Without it, life would still contain plenty of ups and downs.

Yet most people think that if all their problems went away, life would be great. We want to win the lottery, so life turns to bliss. Yet if you observe most lottery winners, instead of bliss they feel deflated. They make mistakes with their winnings. They lose real friends and gain false friendships based on giving away money. They worry about losing what they were given and know they don’t have the capacity to regain it once it is lost.

We need to realize that it isn’t about getting to a certain level that matters. If and when we reach that new height life will change. Some aspects will be for the better and some for the worse. So, it isn’t about getting to the end point.

If we are experiencing unpleasant means to get to a better end point, but the end point won’t be the glorified paradise we hope, what can we do?

I think we need to learn to take it all in stride. We can’t dwell on what we hoped would happen, we must live in the reality that exists. But that doesn’t mean the reality has to suck.

We can learn to find joy in discomfort. We can appreciate the journey as much as the destination. We can put our head down to get through a challenging time while still finding a minute to smile.

If we don’t we risk disregarding everything to get to the “end” and then realize the “end” might be the end. And instead of it being a wonderful time, we may look back and wish we could trade in what we did for what we wish we did instead.

Everyone has tough moments. Sometimes those string together as days, weeks, months, or years. Everyone needs to put their head down and bear through it at times. But realize that we also need to appreciate. The more we can do that, the more those times become slight challenges instead of all-out misery. And the more we can learn to find the happiness in the mundane.