Friday, July 8, 2011

Life is a Journey, Not a Destination



Life is a Journey, Not a Destination is a well known quote that most of us know, but are unable to practice consistently.

We are living in such a goal orientated society that we do forget to smell the roses.

Try to be in the moment whenever you do something.  Put yourself in the "flow" of it all.  Some sport people describe this as being in the "zone".  Remember that if you focus on the journey ie the present moment through your five senses, it does not mean that you cannot focus on the destination as well.  All it means is that the main focus is still on the journey.  Most of us can relate to this to some extent, so I know that most of us have the ability to cultivate this mindset.  This is in essence one of the concept of "mindfulness".

Try it out.....

2 comments:

  1. Yes, I have heard this many times. Sometimes it helps me get through a rough patch, but as a person long suffering from depression, it often sounds trite. Today, it sounds very trite, I'm not enjoying the journey at all, I want to get wherever it is I'm supposed to be going and be done with it.

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  2. When it refer to the "journey" or the "moment", they mean the "instant present" in time. If you are "in the moment of your journey" but still worry about the future, then you are techniquely not in the "instant present". Next time, just be more mindful of when it does work....ask yourself, are you in the instant present,are you in the flow/zone? Are you still thinking about your goals and future, but it is certainly not your primary focus ie it is just in the background. When you are not enjoying it or at least, not accepting it, then are you actually worrying about the future? Is the future still your primary focus?

    This can sound confusing I know.

    Remember, this is only a small part of Mindfulness, CBT, ACT and I would encourage you to talk to your therapist/Doctor further on these subjects.

    Most of the time, knowing is not enough. Most people will need a Health Professional to assist,guide or coach them to apply the concepts and persist with it in order for it to be "hardwired" or become habitual.

    Dr Vin

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