We meet again…I hope you’re okay wherever you’re reading this from.
It’s the 4th of September already and that end-of-the-year tension I get at the start of the “MBER” months is beginning to come up, I’ve started re-evaluating the goals I set for this year, those I’ve achieved, the ones I’m yet to, and the ones I’ll most likely not achieve by the end of the year.
Speaking of goals…
Have there been times you've delayed/put aside your happiness because you felt it wasn't the right time to be happy or you weren't worthy of it yet?
Have you set goals and subconsciously/consciously starved yourself of the feeling of being happy while working towards them?
Have you downplayed your achievements (no matter how small) because you felt like it wasn't good enough, or didn't meet your standards/target?
Have there been times when you finally get what you worked so hard for and instead of the excitement you were looking forward to, you instead feel an overwhelming wave of sadness come over you?
If you answered some or all of these questions in the affirmative, then you’ve been on the Goal Hamster Wheel, some call it the Hedonic Treadmill but that’s just a metaphor used to describe the feeling.
I should be the last person writing about this because I still feel this way to date. At the same time, this was what spurred me to write about it…yunno because I’m as confused as you are
As I read about this topic/issue/feeling (idk what to call it sef) one thing I saw on almost all the blogs I came across was “Learn to set systems instead of goals”. For example, if you have a goal of finishing a book you’ve been writing at the end of the year, cultivate the habit of writing something, anything, every day that way you get to enjoy the journey towards achieving the said goal. I’m supposed to list out other ways to manage this feeling but I have some sort of short attention span (you probably do too) and that made me move on to another interesting read.
I’m not a pro but gratitude has been a major help to me, every single milestone, target and goal achieved I make sure to acknowledge them, be grateful for them and at the same time enjoy the journey towards everything I work for. In essence, it means not tieing your happiness to accomplishments.
As you go through this week, celebrate every moment; celebrate yourself.
Till I write to you again, stay jiggy
Zee✌🏾