Lessons from the Journey: Progress Inspires a Greater Vision
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: As you make progress toward a small goal, the bigger vision expands.
Many people featured in the book started with a small goal that grew in scope as it became more feasible. As they gained confidence, their goals expanded as well.
This was certainly the case for me, too. I didn’t begin the quest to visit every country without having gone anywhere. I first began traveling, and I loved traveling for its own sake. After I’d been to a lot of places, I started to think… “What would it be like to visit 100 countries?”
As I approached 100, the goal grew in scope—I decided to attempt all of them!
Without the original, lesser goal, I don’t think I would have taken on the task of “going everywhere.” The progress I made gave me confidence that I could attempt a real challenge.
If you can’t picture a tremendous accomplishment at first, start with an achievable one. Also, when you work toward a tremendous accomplishment, watch out! The next one may be even bigger.
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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 pursue a goal
- It feels good to check things off a list
- Misadventures produce confidence
- Some adventures should be shared
- All you have to do is put one foot in front of the other
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: Judy
