“Success is a journey, not a destination” – Arthur Ashe

A few days back, I got a certification in wine called “Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW)”. It had a pass rate of 45%; meaning more than half of the test takers did not pass the test! Knowing the odds and having no previous experience, I decided I am going to work hard, give my best and pass the test. I studied and studied and studied for 4-5 months. The last 2 months were even more intense – waking up before sunrise, staying late, listening while driving, sipping wine, making use of any free time I got and all this while working full time. At times as I had work meetings at night, I had to switch back and forth from work to wine study. Such fun! As the day of my test approached, I put all other personal stuff (working out, cooking etc) on hold and immersed myself into the world of wine. As time passed and my studies progressed, I gained more confidence. I knew that I would do well in the test. And so I did. I scored an unbelievable 98%!! All my hard work had paid off!

All my life, I had been running in pursuit of bigger things and never really took a moment to acknowledge my accomplishments. This time though, I decided to stop and take a moment (be it a day or a week or a month) and examine what I had achieved and cherish it. After all, life is about these happy moments, right? Or so I thought. But then.. Why do I feel this emptiness – a void that needs to be filled?

Don’t get me wrong; I was elated and proud of myself as one would be. There are less than 8000 CSWs in the world and I am one of them! I WAS ecstatic. I had always been the kind of person who thought one step ahead and what’s going to come next without actually being IN the moment. So this time, I decided to forget about “what next?” at least for a day or two and turn everything off! I worked my a@$ off the past few months and felt that I deserved to savor this moment and just do nothing! I tried and tried but felt disenchanted with nothing to look forward to. It was like there was a void inside of me. Something that I NEED to fill in with a different goal. I gave so much thought into why this was happening and realized something. It is not the end result that is important but the joy is all in the pursuit. How else can I explain the emptiness after achieving something that I had been pursuing so passionately with full dedication? Why am I itching to set a new goal and eager to start the journey again? Because I so dearly miss the journey. The joy in pursuit may be the reason we set a goal and try to fill in the hole left by a previous pursuit. On to the next journey we go in this vicious cycle. After all, what is life without a goal? These little goals and their pursuits keep life interesting, challenging and worth enjoying. I would like to wish you the best in your next pursuit and end with this quote because all I remember now is the journey—

“Joy is found not in finishing an activity but doing it. The more difficult it is to reach your destination, the more you will remember the journey.”