My last mistake is thinking that the goal will fix everything. Like, once I reach my goal, it would fix me. It would rid me of all my self loathing and I will be magically cured. The problem with goal-first mentality means that you are putting off happiness until you hit your milestone. "There is no goal. The goal will never make you happy. All we have is today and the happiness you feel in it. There is no success or failure. You are the only one who can make failure feel like a failure."
When I saw this, I had to stop, I was like "whoa". This is the reminder of the decade, because I am constantly under this illusion that a goal and reaching that goal will make me happy forever. But every goal that I reached, when I did it, it did make me happy. It was a climax, but a very short climax... How many millions do I have to chase in order to be happy?
It's important to fall in love with the process, not the product. So that way, you can be happy now. Goals and direction are important, but don't think that it's going to make you happy forever. My pro-tip is to give yourself permission to be happy now. And happiness is an inside job. Only you can make yourself happy, and if you don't know how to make yourself happy now and you don't know why you're not happy, then no goal, abstract goal or tangible goal, is going to fix that need.
— Jenn Im
