Value the Journey as much as you Value the Destination

The journey of life is long and full of countless paths that lead to different rewards and experiences. It's enjoyable at times and difficult at others when we reach a detour in the path.  Think for a second. What makes us continue through this journey? Is it the people by our sides, the happy memories we cherish deep inside our minds, or the hope that we made it before and we’ll make it again. Whenever I want to motivate myself when I’m not really in the mood to study, I always think of my final goal destination that I’m dreaming of to keep myself inspired and remind myself why I’m doing this in the first place. I practice visualization of my dream to help make it a reality. You can try it. Close your eyes and paint a picture of your own dream. Think of every single detail, what you’re wearing, what country you’re in, how you’re feeling, probably ecstatic because you finally reached your dream destination. I personally have a stethoscope and white lab coat that I got as a personalized gift from amazon and it says Dr. Nourhan Shams on it. It’s funny but really helps with the visualization practice. I wear them both and look at the mirror and tell myself I’m a future doctor in progress, which motivates me to get to work. But the reward at the end of the path is usually a long term goal that takes months, if not years to attain. So are we simply going to visualize our dreams every moment of the day to keep us moving forward. Obviously not, because that’s not realistic. 

We shouldn’t only value the destination, but also the precious journey. The journey is the process of learning, making mistakes, trying again, messing up again, and finally figuring some things out, but not everything because we’re always learning. Now these events I just listed don’t happen once. They happen over and over and over again as we start and finish countless paths on the journey we call life. The journey is hard and uncomfortable sometimes but that’s okay because if we always stay in our safe space without taking risks and facing our fears we won’t grow. It’s important to value  the struggle in the journey as much as we value the final destination.  

People always want to find that shortcut that will shorten their path to their destination. A cure to a health condition, an easy promotion, a high starting salary, or a time teleportation machine that could fast forward your life to another year.  We usually want to jump from path to path and quickly get done with one journey so we can move onto the next. But if we stop dodging the process and look up for a second, we can see that the journey isn’t that bad after all. Every single person in the world is dealing with a struggle, whether its health, career, relationships, family, finances, or safety. It’s the nature of life. I wanna break the stigma and encourage people to speak about their struggles because when we do, it’s easier to work together and look for solutions to heal. Remember, there’s a benefit in everything. So be patient and value the struggles in your journey. Our struggles and conditions don’t define who we are. We’re all unique beautiful people who are learning how to live stronger and longer by the experiences we face everyday. 

There’s a famous quote that I think of every time I want to shift my thinking from a negative mindset to a more positive mindset. I’m sure most of you know this song’s tune because it’s been playing in movies and restaurants all around the world since 1945. The famous french singer named Edith Piaf sang La vie en rose and ever since, that quote became famous as a perspective on lifestyle. La vie en rose literally means looking through rose colored glass. Pink roses have a positive floral connotation that resembles fun and happiness. So when life gives you lemons, why not look at life through rose colored glass and make pink lemonade. Remember it's your choice to find the sparkle in every moment and value the struggles in your precious journey.

And remember, live beautifully and happily.

Warmly,

N.A.S.