It's the Journey, not the Destination


I spent the past week with my 12-year-old son, Isaac, and my 6-year-old daughter, Haley, traveling to the highest point in 7 states. While it was fun checking the highpoints off our list, the journey was the most memorable. 

It was conversations in the car, rolling down the windows to get truckers to honk, petting wild ponies, encouraging each other in the dark on our 10-mile hike, selfies along the way, and overall time together that made the trip so memorable. 
Selfies
Encouraging each other in the dark

We drove to places we’d never been, and even the GPS directions were not clear (or correct). Sometimes we’d make a wrong turn on the way to that day’s destination and have to recalculate our route.

It’s the same at work and in our personal lives. The pictures are often of the destination, but the memories are of the journey. We’re often tackling new opportunities that we have never done before. Sometimes we make a wrong turn and have to recalculate our plans. Make sure you are taking time to stop and enjoy the journey and interactions with others along the way. You spend much more time on the journey than at the destination. The destination is just a checkmark and photo opp; the journey is where personal growth happens, and the memories are made.

For those interested, Isaac and I have visited 18 state highpoints after this trip. Read more about our Appalachian Highpoints Trip of 5 nights, 7 State Highpoints, and 1,679.7 miles.

Video of getting a trucker to honk

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