You Got What You Wanted. Now What?
“So how does it feel to have everything you ever wanted in life? And to have it earlier than you ever could have realistically expected?
I can tell you: It feels like nothing.”
That’s how Ryan Holiday described the feeling of becoming a massively successful author and speaker.
So what happens when your Odyssey becomes reality?
You got the job. The lifestyle. The money. Whatever you were after.
But now what?
For high achievers, this can be a destabilizing moment.
So we start to move the goal posts. The finish line gets pushed further.
A little more money. A little more success. Then, we can relax and celebrate.
How do we get off the treadmill?
Social Psychologist and Author Johnathan Haidt offers a thought in his book The Happiness Hypothesis.
“Happiness doesn’t come from getting what you want. It doesn’t come from within, either. Happiness comes from between – from finding the right relationship between yourself and others, between yourself and your work, and between yourself and something larger than yourself.”
The goal is just a goal – but our relationship to the goal, the story, the meaning, and the people who surround the goal might be where the true happiness lies.
When you reach the top of the mountain, it could be a good time to revisit your compass. Maybe reexamine your relationship to the goals you achieved and the people involved in those goals. Were they as meaningful as you hoped? Why or why not?
By Adam Allred
DYL Consulting Director and Certified Instructor