My Pursuit Of Happiness

Einstein once said “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or objects”, so in a bid to make my 2015 outshine my 2014, I put my running shoes on this week and started training for a half marathon.

I’ve always been a big believer in goal setting – I’ve blogged about it many times before – and so, with my personal development review coming up, this blog post seems somewhat fitting. But not this time, because instead of writing about goal setting in the workplace, I’d like to write about some that are closer to home.

Over the past few years, I’ve been concentrating on my career and my journey at TimeInc, so much so that I now feel like its time for a shift. I think in life it’s easy for moments to just pass us by without a second thought. I’ve certainly been guilty of getting lost in the hustle and bustle of city life, daydreaming on the commute home or getting engrossed in social media. I feel like its time to come back to the present moment, before it slips away from me.

So after a long day at work, I dash to put my running shoes on and allow myself to run away with my own thoughts. As I move swiftly from one foot to the other, I find myself in each moment progressing closer to my goal, and to ultimately finding my own presence. As with all goal setting, it’s about keeping the end in mind and retaining the required focus. It’s that which keeps me going and sets the pace. It’s here I experience being present in the moment, what Patsy Rodenburg coins the ‘second circle’ - an amazing place where you’re focussed and energised – a place where new goals are realised.

It’s here I discover that I want to step outside of my comfort zone and go skydiving, and to take on new challenges like becoming a Tough Mudder. Simply put, I think this is what life is all about – setting and achieving goals. Someone’s words really resonated with me last week - they told me to stop thinking about doing it and to just do it – in other words live in the moment. All I have to do is focus. So as I turn to make my way back home, I carry on running through the breeze, taking a deep breath in and thinking to myself “be happy for this moment; for this moment is your life” (Omar Khayyam).