Enjoy the Journey of Life!

I had a singular focus after I graduated college: success. I desperately wanted immediate success, and anything short of that felt unsatisfactory. It got so bad that I even started putting some money into the stock market when it plummeted to death. In particular, I bought some Washington Mutual Bank stocks. Obviously, that was a bad idea.

Once the appeal of the stock market sort of faded, I began hoping and dreaming to win that one glorious prize universally held dear: the lottery. Not just any lottery, mind you. The Mega Millions Multi-state lottery that paid out a total of $150,000,000. I started obsessing over this particular cash prize, really believing that I was going to win. As a matter of fact, one night I stayed up till 4 AM planning what I would do with every single dollar that I made. There’s even a website that is devoted to what you should do once you win the lottery, which of course, I read thoroughly with careful detail. I wanted to make sure that once I won, I would be ready!

It was all great to plan and dream, but when the night of the lottery came, it left me in the same condition that I had previously found myself in: not a millionaire. I actually came really close one time to winning, which is pretty crazy cause I only usually get $2 of lottery tickets every time I buy it. I had 3 numbers + the mega million number matching, and ended up winning $157 dollars on my $2 investment. That’s pretty solid. But it’s definitely not $150,000,000.

And so, here I am, the non-millionaire version of me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be a millionaire. But I think somewhere along the way, I stopped caring as much as I used to. Because I realized that life is pretty damn awesome if you’re willing to enjoy it.

And I guess that’s what this post is all about. After graduating college, you’re going to be stuck in this perpetual state of lostness. You’re not going to know how to attain that success that you so desperately desire. You’re going to have questions, doubts, and uncertainties. All the meanwhile, you’re going to be pretty darn impatient to make lots of money and win lots of fame.

My advice to you is simple: enjoy the journey of life. It’s definitely nice to get to where you want to go. However, if you can’t enjoy the journey of getting there, you’re going to miss out on some pretty amazing experiences. I strongly recommend watching the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, and letting it speak into your life. Life would be stale without it’s ups and downs. As much as we hate the bad times, it gives our life flavor and meaningfulness. We grow through difficulties, and become more mature and independent as a result of them.

I heard this anecdote once that really helped me to gain perspective on this idea of “enjoying the journey”.

One day, a little boy saw a teenager, and said to himself, “I can’t wait to be like him! Because then I can drive a car, and be happy.” The teenager, however, desired the freedom of a college student, and therefore could not wait till he got to college. He hated being a teenager, and being couped up in his house.

The college student, of course,  was very discontent with not having money and a career. So he began dreaming about the days when he would finally be able to join the real world and establish his own career and lifepath like the young adult. The young adult, though, did not like the instability and uncertainty of his situation. He wanted to be successful and have his life already defined. As such, he couldn’t wait to be middle aged, married, and settled.

The middle aged man? Of course, he wasn’t happy, either, because he hated working. He wanted to be old and retire already. Live off his 401K plan.

The old man sat there, silently thinking about his life. He had done quite a lot of things, and had lived quite a long life. But the whole time, the only thing he could do was stare at the little kid in the room and think to himself, “Oh, to be young again.”

If you’re always looking ahead, you can never enjoy the present. Life is full of seasons. Life is full of different experiences. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy your life.