In 2021 I was awarded a lifetime achievement award in my industry. I found the whole presentation difficult, but I was really overawed by the response of my peers.
I have always enjoyed my current role, but to have a public show of how my efforts were received was amazing and it did encourage me to take time to relish the warm and fuzzy. I even put it in my email footer for a year.
Two years later I can still feel the warm and fuzzy, and I am enjoying mentoring those who are coming up alongside me, as I will enjoy their recognition in later times.
Inch pebble marks. I love that idea! I have two kids and the conceit of long term goals has very little meaning to them. I think it’s a sign of how present kids are.
Thanks, Rachel. I like this idea of using milestones like hiking cairns. And why not elevate as many as possible? You're probably familiar with "The Power of Moments" by the Heath brothers, which promotes this. Their idea that stuck with me the most is to find more inch-pebble to mark and celebrate along the way. As the dad of 1 young boy and another on the way, I've done my best to do that. One of the best surprises of being a dad is there are tons of inch-pebbles to mark in addition to the famous milestones (first word/step).
Is there not a risk that we view work and life as a journey where we are walking through hills and valleys ? We feel as if we are always walking up the hill out of the valley and that when we reach the top of the next hill - life will be better, work will be less or more manageable, I will finally be happy. Unfortunately, once you reach the next hill all you see is another valley and potentially a higher hill to climb. And in response people decide not to go on holiday because the next hill is looming. Or they go away on holiday but do it in the shadow of that hill and so when they return to work their ‘holiday bubble’ is so weak that it is popped by the smallest of challenges or obstacles.
Thank you for this post! I fall into this trap regularly. I get the reasoing behind the temporal landmarks but can't seem to make it work internally. Yes, getting x amount of subscribers would make more alive. Now how can i keep motivating myself when the light at the end of tunnel is still far away.
Haven’t heard the term “temporal landmark” before, but I like it. This feels like a much healthier way to internalize achievement and milestones. I especially love the point on how we can use temporal landmarks that might not necessarily apply to our lives directly like when school resumes after summer even if we’re not a student ourselves. Makes me think about an idea I just stumbled across. Most businesses measure success in terms of KPIs, but there’s a new trend emerging for brands to measure success with CPIs (Community Performance Indicators). It’s all about perspective, I guess.
The perils of deferred happiness
In 2021 I was awarded a lifetime achievement award in my industry. I found the whole presentation difficult, but I was really overawed by the response of my peers.
I have always enjoyed my current role, but to have a public show of how my efforts were received was amazing and it did encourage me to take time to relish the warm and fuzzy. I even put it in my email footer for a year.
Two years later I can still feel the warm and fuzzy, and I am enjoying mentoring those who are coming up alongside me, as I will enjoy their recognition in later times.
Inch pebble marks. I love that idea! I have two kids and the conceit of long term goals has very little meaning to them. I think it’s a sign of how present kids are.
Thanks, Rachel. I like this idea of using milestones like hiking cairns. And why not elevate as many as possible? You're probably familiar with "The Power of Moments" by the Heath brothers, which promotes this. Their idea that stuck with me the most is to find more inch-pebble to mark and celebrate along the way. As the dad of 1 young boy and another on the way, I've done my best to do that. One of the best surprises of being a dad is there are tons of inch-pebbles to mark in addition to the famous milestones (first word/step).
Is there not a risk that we view work and life as a journey where we are walking through hills and valleys ? We feel as if we are always walking up the hill out of the valley and that when we reach the top of the next hill - life will be better, work will be less or more manageable, I will finally be happy. Unfortunately, once you reach the next hill all you see is another valley and potentially a higher hill to climb. And in response people decide not to go on holiday because the next hill is looming. Or they go away on holiday but do it in the shadow of that hill and so when they return to work their ‘holiday bubble’ is so weak that it is popped by the smallest of challenges or obstacles.
Thank you for this post! I fall into this trap regularly. I get the reasoing behind the temporal landmarks but can't seem to make it work internally. Yes, getting x amount of subscribers would make more alive. Now how can i keep motivating myself when the light at the end of tunnel is still far away.
Haven’t heard the term “temporal landmark” before, but I like it. This feels like a much healthier way to internalize achievement and milestones. I especially love the point on how we can use temporal landmarks that might not necessarily apply to our lives directly like when school resumes after summer even if we’re not a student ourselves. Makes me think about an idea I just stumbled across. Most businesses measure success in terms of KPIs, but there’s a new trend emerging for brands to measure success with CPIs (Community Performance Indicators). It’s all about perspective, I guess.