They say, “Life is a journey, not a destination.” Though it sounds cliché at times, I like its sentiment.
In a month, I’ll be flying to Paris with my fiancée for a much needed holiday during Vietnamese New Year break, and I’ll definitely be savoring every bit of the experience. It’s our first long-haul flight together, our first time in Europe, and a trip we’ve been wanting to take for a couple of years. I’ve made sure of it by getting both of us lounge access and paying extra for cozy seats on our Emirates flight.
When I’m working on a project, I enjoy going through the process from the very little idea or spark in the beginning, getting that “aha” moment, to even occasionally wandering down a few rabbit holes before I get to where I intend.
I used to dread writing assignments and writing in general back in school. It was a bit painful trying to extract every word out of my mind, especially when it felt like the only goal was to deliver the assignment. Thankfully, this changed as I grew older. Today, a big part of my day-to-day involves writing — from writing work documentation to journaling, especially journaling, and now this blog. I love the clarity it brings, and it has become my way of thinking clearly, untangling thoughts, and deepening my understanding of the world and myself through every edit.
Then, I find myself wondering: when is it about the destination and not the journey?
When it comes to traveling, honestly I’m not big on meticulous planning, and neither is my fiancée. This used to be exciting to me a decade ago. Now, I absolutely don’t want to have an exact and rigid schedule where at 9 am we’ll do this and 10 am we’ll go here. Instead, let’s have a few places saved on Google Maps and see what kind of adventure we’ll have based on how we feel in the moment.
At work, I can keep going down endless rabbit holes or go on wild goose chases with stakeholders asking for requirement changes, but we’ll only end up with the perfect product in our head rather than a useful one in the hands of our users.
Sometimes, sharing feedback with someone is hard because while my intention is to give constructive feedback and for us to be on the same page, it can still feel like a criticism to them. This journey is uncomfortable, but I don’t want to avoid it. I’m still learning to be better at it because mindful, thoughtful, and constructive feedback is essential for growth — mine and theirs — and achieving shared goals, and ultimately our relationship.
As with many things in life, I think the balance between the journey and the destination will shift with our priorities and circumstances. There will be times where we want to embrace the journey, and other times the destination actually holds more significance and purpose so it requires our focus. For me lately, whether we’re on a journey or racing toward a destination, it’s been the people I share it with — friends who inspire me, loved ones who ground me, and colleagues who push me to grow — who make it meaningful and worthwhile.