Do you know someone who is a very determined and goal-oriented person? Maybe you know a few people like that, and you might even personally relate. I certainly can.

For most of my life, I was setting goals for myself. And I didn’t rest until these goals were achieved. Even if it was on hold due to outside circumstances, I wouldn’t let go of it in my head. I used to call myself a perfectionist. I used to believe that I could only start enjoying upon completion of my goal. I was very persistent while working on my goals since I thought I could achieve permanent happiness when the results are reached. But that wasn’t the case.

When I have achieved my goals, it felt good… I might even call this feeling happiness, but it didn’t last long. It usually went away after a day or 2, sometimes a week, as we adapt to our new environment pretty quickly. And it felt empty again.

The problem was that I wasn’t enjoying the progress on the way to achieving my goal. I have created the rules for myself/my life where it was not possible to live a joyful life. Only after realizing this, I have changed those rules and was able to improve the quality of my life.

Avoid going to perfection mode, instead learn to enjoy the process. What makes you feel alive is the sense of progress. And real happiness and fulfillment cannot be achieved without progress.