Reaching the goal lasts for only a moment.
Working toward the goal lasts months, years, or even decades.
Consider how you'll feel if you never reach the goal.
Ask yourself if all the work will still be worth it.
It's the work that you'll remember.
So often, we look only at the outcome we desire.
We completely ignore all the time and effort spent pursuing it.
Then, succeed or fail, we realize it wasn’t worth it.
We look back and see how miserable we were.
We think of all the other things we could have been doing.
We feel we’ve wasted that time and effort.
Of course, the outcome may matter.
It’s not the only thing that matters, though.
There’s always a tradeoff.
You only have so much time and energy.
Dedicating them to one thing means withholding them from infinite alternatives.
Put them toward what you see as the worthiest of efforts.
That might mean efforts so important that they’re worth pursuing even if you fail.
It might mean efforts that simply put a smile on your face.
Find out what it means to you.
Then, do that work.
You’ve got this.
