Lessons from the Journey: “It Feels Good to Check Things Off a List”
From my own 193-country journey to the stories of many other people who were kindly willing to share, The Happiness of Pursuit attempts to extract and convey the lessons of modern-day quests. This series explores some of these lessons.
Lesson: We are motivated by progress and achievement. It feels good to check things off.
Lists are both fun and motivational. We enjoy breaking things down step-by-step and incrementally conquering big challenges.
In 1994, 16-year-old Kristen Goldberg made her first and only life list. This was years before The Bucket List had hit theaters, and Kristen didn’t know anyone else who was making a list. It just seemed like a fun project.
Twenty years later, Kristen is still following the same list—no modifications permitted, even though some items might not be as important to a 35-year-old woman as they were to a 16-year-old teenager.
You don’t need a bucket list, by the way. But if you’re pursuing a quest or big goal, there’s a key principle you can adapt: incremental progress feels good.
When I was going to every country in the world, I kept up with my tally in Evernote. Going down the list and seeing more and more “X” marks was highly motivating. I was getting there! I had a long way to go to get to country #193, but eventually I got there… and the milestones along the way felt good.
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Other lessons:
- Unhappiness can lead to new beginnings
- Everyone has a calling. Follow your own passion
- Before beginning, count the cost
- Every day matters. The awareness of our mortality can help us focus
The Happiness of Pursuit is available from Amazon.com or your favorite local bookseller. You can also join me on tour in your choice of more than 40 cities.
Image: Ian&
