Football season is swiftly approaching…no sooner will the lights in the Olympic village dim…than Friday night lights will brighten the sky…goals will be cheered…goals will be jeered…goals will be the topic of discussion…over coffee…over beer…over the water cooler…for days to come…
And…as encompassing as these goals are…they aren’t the ones that I want to talk about today…
No…I’m thinking about personal goals…and how life does and doesn’t change once you accomplish them…you might guess that…Bertha…is behind this discussion…and of course you’d be right…
Anyway…the first memory that she brought up…was of Mama…and an insight that she’d had over fifty years ago…
She had a dream…a goal if you will…of building a house on a piece of land we owned that had a bluff…her thinking was that if she only lived there…she’d be happy…I’m sure she spent many hours daydreaming about the house…the happiness…the if onlys…
Then…one day…she realized…if she moved to the bluff…all her problems would move with her…immediate bliss wasn’t guaranteed…
We never moved to the bluff…
That was a valuable lesson…and one that she passed along to her children…wherever you go…you take you with you…but…while it is easy to appreciate on an intellectual level…on a personal level…well…let’s just say…I’m more hard headed…
I can remember so many…goals…over the years…that I thought would change my life…would bring me happiness…and…that would be that…getting married…having children…getting a particular dream job…writing a book…reaching the bestseller list…
Now…I’ve actually reached all of those goals…Bertha…points out that none of these goals brought me true happiness…my happiness…or my lack thereof…is an inside job…that doesn’t depend on goals…it depends on me…living in the moment and making each one be the best that it can be…
She tells me this…a week after she made the Amazon bestsellers list on two continents…in Motivational and Self-Help…quite a feat…and one that some years ago I would have thought would have immediately changed my life…would have brought me blissful happiness…
But…as I know now…it didn’t…not exactly…
Has becoming a bestselling author changed my life…yes…of course it has…it has given me more confidence…it has reassured me that I can reach my goals…it has reassured me that…Bertha…is a wonderful book…it reaffirmed what wonderful friends and family I have…people who worked to help it happen…I did more happy dances than Snoopy…but…it didn’t bring me happiness…that’s my job…every day…every moment…
Oh…and it didn’t bring me a maid…I’m really bummed about that…perhaps that should be my next goal…I know that having one won’t make me happy…but the house sure will look better…while I’m spending time in the contemplation chair…making it happen…
One Happy Camper…Jane
Great insight!…hind site is always 20/20 isn’t it? It is fun to reach goals. But, often the journey is more rewarding than the landing, as Bertha now sees!
Yes…it’s all about the journey…I hope I didn’t sound like I’m not happy…because I am…just before…during and after…LOL! Thanks for the visit and all your support. I so appreciate you!
Yes, I always seem to be a tag along to myself! Crazy how that works. I am so happy to say that I learned this lesson several years ago and have tried to pass it on to my kids and family and friends. It’s not always easy, that’s for sure. Thanks for reminding me once again.
Tamy, It is a valuable lesson…one that I try to forget sometimes just so I can blame someone/thing when I’m in a foul mood…unfortunately…Bertha always reminds me!
Congratulations on the success of your books. I so enjoy reading your blog & your books. They cause me to think, really think, who knows, I may have a ‘Bertha,’
or her cousin, ‘Ethel’!
Thanks for sharing your gift with others!
Belinda
Thank you so much Belinda. I definitely think you have an Ethel…shall we call her…Thul…for short? That name actually brings back old memories of Ethel Posey who lived on Granny’s place when we were growing up…Cindy and I called her…Thul…of course…to her face it was Mrs. Posey…not sure why we did that…LOL! Maybe Bertha and Ethel need to get together!