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I’ll be happy when I clear my exams with good grades.

I’ll be happy when I secure a job with one of these top notch companies

I’ll be happy when I find love

I’ll be happy when we tie the knot

I’ll be happy when we buy our own home

I’ll be happy when we have a kid

and the list goes on and on. Of course our wishes and aspirations are unlimited , and they should be. Just like Maslow’s hierarchy states, we are bound to seek the next level of fulfilment once a need or wish has been met. But havent you felt that sometimes we are so self absorbed in the attainment of our goal, we make it our life’s sole purpose such that we tend to miss out on savouring little joys that come our way. We tell ourselves stubbornly that we will be truly content once this big life goal is met.

I have experienced it on several occasions in the past. Its one thing to be focussed in our efforts to reach a destination we ought to get to, but blinding out everything that comes our way and denying ourselves from experiencing little joys that come our way does not make us any happier or make our success sweeter. I also discovered, to my utter disbelief on a few occasions the euphoria I was anticipating on achieving some of these life goals was much subdued and the mind then started graduating towards what next. It’s a never ending cycle , I am quite certain we would never reach a day when we can truly say I have achieved all of my life goals and there is nothing more my heart desires. Why then center our life and happiness solely on these goals- why not soak in the beautiful life experiences that come our way , be more conscious of our surroundings – not just monitor the steps and calories burnt during that morning walk but enjoy that whiff of fresh air and the beauty of swaying flowers? Why not sip that cup of tea having a heartfelt conversation with a loved one , even if thats for 5 minutes than gulp it down as we scroll through our emails? Why not pause to express gratitude, share a smile, exchange a few kind words with a colleague, a friend and make our day more enriching?

The path to happiness lies in mundane moments, little joys that we savour, memories we build with our loved ones , at times doing the regular stuff like watching a movie together. The big victories matter no doubt and chase them we should with all rigour but in our pursuit of life goals let’s pause time and again to create countless happy moments on the way.

Written in response to FictionMondays hosted by Vinitha