Smell the Roses: Focus on Your Career’s Journey, Not the Destination

For each of us, our career is a journey. It can take us many places. We may change locations, employers, or even professions. And each experience we have along the way provides us with knowledge we can use at some point in the future—what to do differently or what not to do. Every experience gives us something we can use if we pay attention and really want to learn.

We must recognize that the journey is what’s important. So often we focus on the destination and lose sight of the journey. We get so wrapped up in what we’re going to accomplish that we forget about enjoying what we do every day to get there.

When I was a young man, I remember my boss asking, “Why are you in such a hurry? What are you going to do when you’re 40?” Just two questions—but with vastly different messages. The first question could be interpreted as a warning that I needed to slow down and enjoy the journey. I, certainly in her opinion, was rushing to a destination, and the pace I was going didn’t allow for me to take satisfaction in what I was doing each day.

But the second question assumes at least three things:

1. There was definitely a destination I wanted to reach.
2. I was going to arrive before the midpoint of my career.
3. Arriving early would leave me without direction after that point.

Here’s something to think about: What if there is no destination? What if there is no finish line?

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By setting a destination, we actually limit ourselves. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about a number of principles that apply here. First, he maintains that successful organizations “founded their strategies” on three key principles, one of which is that they must determine what they “can be best in the world at.”

Is being the best in the world at something really a destination? I don’t think so. Because the minute you slow down or stop, someone is going to pass you by. There is no finish line. To reach the top and remain there, you must show up every day and keep striving. Being the best in the world isn’t a destination.

Another Collins principle is what he termed a company’s “core ideology.” His contention is that it’s critical for an organization to “instill core values (essential and enduring tenets) and core purpose (fundamental reason for being beyond just making money) as principles to guide decisions and inspire people throughout the organization over a long period of time.” Again, this goes against the idea that there’s a destination.

If you’re a food distribution company, maybe your core values and purpose are to make sure that fresh, quality food can reach every corner of the earth. It’s an incredibly ambitious goal and one that might not be achieved in your lifetime. It’s something employees could rally around, but they would understand that it’s so big, they may not be around if and when it happens, yet they can contribute today.

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Again, one might argue that delivering fresh, quality food to every corner of the world is a destination, but I don’t think so. Let’s assume you’re able to meet this ambitious goal that has likely driven the company forward for decades. You still can find better and faster ways to meet that objective. The job isn’t done just because you’re able to get food to every person on earth. You have to keep those supply routes open. You can find new ways to increase the freshness and quality of what you deliver. You may even need to teach people what to do with the food now that it has been delivered to them. The job simply isn’t done.

It’s dangerous to focus too much on the destination and not the journey. How many times have you watched a runner slow down as he approaches the finish line only to be passed by another runner who goes all the way through the tape? How many times have you seen a football player slow down to celebrate as he approaches the goal line, only to be tackled short of the goal? Because they think they’ve arrived at their destination, they slow down, and someone who is willing to work a little harder—who doesn’t slow down or give up—steals the prize.

Don’t think about the destination; think about the journey. There are always new opportunities and new challenges. There is always more to do and contribute. Set your goals so big that just the process of pursuing them will provide you with the satisfaction that your journey is what it’s truly all about.

Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.

—Arthur Ashe