Are You Chasing the Golden Snitch?

Are you chasing the golden snitch?

I've recently begun to see the degree to which measuring my life by achievements and successes makes me feel unsteady. Or better put, crazy, frenetic, and influence way to strongly by the opinions of others.

I know, Rachel Hollis, I know. "Someone else's opinion is none of my business." But still, so much of achieving as a lawyer and an entrepreneur involves the opinions of others and I can get mired in that thick quick sand.

Don't get me wrong, one of my top five #strengthfinder2.0 strengths is Achievement. Reaching for big goals and ACHIEVING them is hard wired in me and the times I have tried to stop being an #achiever have been some of the very worst. Like lay on the couch and eat milanos and feel depressed kind of worst.

But after a lot of contemplation and inhaling a lot of frankincense (what, like you don;t?), I've come to some conclusions.

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I find a difference between going after a goal and getting it and measuring my success in life by my stack of achievements. Of course I am proud of my resume, I updated it yesterday and seeing the list of things I have done makes me feel good. It should. That's almost two decades of hard work and long hours and dedication and passion.

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But here's the trick. The reason I feel happy and proud is because I remember what it was like to be on ground zero of that winning that jury verdict or writing that book or researching that article or negotiating that settlement. The achievement itself is satisfying and worth celebrating (usually with a new pain of fancy shoes), but the process of GETTING there is what makes my soul sing.

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To often we (and not just lawyers and entrepreneurs) get caught up in "when I win this case" or "when I change this law" or "when I earn this much." That, friends, is probably why lawyers drink. I know it's why I did. Because I forgot that chasing down the goals was about way more than the next win or cause for celebration. I forget about the golden snitch, the big goal that ends the game.

So I remind myself that each time I chase down a goal, it sets me up for the next goal, it transforms me as a person, it is another step on the road to who I want to me.

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Achievements are guideposts along the way. They are not the golden snitch. The golden snitch, my lovelies, is when you become the person you are meant to be. Or rather when you begin to become. Because it really never stops.

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Are you letting your guideposts dictate your joy? Or are you finding the good in the process of chasing the golden snitch?