Microsoft Word who will cry when u die doc

34. 
Enjoy the Path, 
Not Just the Reward  
In my work, I am often asked to teach people how to set and achieve goals. When I ask my audiences, “Why is 
it so important that you realize your goals?” they often answer, “Because getting the things I want will make me 
happy.” While there is an element of truth in this answer – getting the things we want often does bring a 
measure of joy into our lives – it somehow misses the mark. The real value of setting and achieving goals lies 
not in the reward you receive but in the person you become as a result of reaching your goals. This simple 
distinction has helped me to enjoy the path of life while, at the same time, staying focused on meeting my 
personal and professional objective. 
As one of my favorite philosophers, Ralph Waldo Emerson, observed, “The reward for a thing well done, is to 
have done it.” When you achieve a goal, whether that goal was to be a wiser leader or to become a better parent 
you will have grown as a person in the process. Often, you will not be able to detect this growth, but the growth 
will have occurred. So rather than savoring only the rewards that have flowed form the achievement of that 
goal, celebrate the fact that the process of reaching your destination has improved the person you are. You have 
built self – discipline, discovered new things about your abilities and manifested more of your human potential. 
These are reward in and of themselves. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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