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 realise 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.
Excerpt from Who WIll Cry When You Die by Robin Sharma. www.robinsharma.com