Growing up, I would always look at things with only the end in mind. Years of catholic conditioning taught me to prioritize getting to heaven above all else in life. This concept spilled over into over parts of my life, and as a result, I never learned to embrace the journey.

The modern-day is filled with miserable people everywhere. They're stuck in the endless pursuit of happiness and satisfaction.

Their desire blinds them to the process, causing them to only focus on their end goal. They wonder why they are so unhappy.

When you set out to accomplish something, it is vitally important that you value the journey at least as much as the destination. Here are the big lessons I've picked up from embracing the journey.

1. Charting your course up the mountain

How many people do you know that actually take time to prepare? Some say it's a waste of time, yet preparation is arguably more important than executing your plans. Proper preparation allows you to know what path you'll be taking on your journey.

Growing up, I was a serial procrastinator. I would always push off my work till the last anxiety-inducing minute. 

I never knew why I was this way, nor how to stop it. I accepted my fate that I would be this way forever and struggled through AP English in my last year of high school.

I thought the pattern would end once I got to college, but it only got worse. Being the naive kid I was, I thought that surely my intelligence from high school would transfer over.

It's here that I learned just how rough it is not to have a proper action plan. I struggled more in college compared to high school.

After what would be my eventual dropping out of college, it would take me years to fully grasp the power of planning. 

In the beginning, I started simple; I set times for my two productive habits, working out and meditating, and I stuck to them. Within three weeks, I started seeing changes in my mental health I once thought were impossible.

Nowadays, if I can't decide what to do, I write down all the things I can do and pick an order to do them.

Part of your journey is planning your route. Plan your route properly and you'll have little trouble on your trip if you have to adjust course.

2. Embrace the Views of your Journey

Surely by now, you've heard some variation of the saying, "It's the friends we made along the way!" This saying is actually quite accurate. In fact, the main reason modern men are miserable is that they don't enjoy the views on their journey.

My catholic upbringing taught me two things very clearly: focus on getting to heaven and learn only the lessons that help with getting there. This taught me to never value the views.

I remember when I got rejected the first two times, I never stopped to ask myself if I should do something different. I had been taught a certain way of getting girls, which I had been told does work.

I didn't question why it wasn't working, I simply moved on. I was so blind to the lessons I could've learned from these moments; I was all too enamored by the goal of having a girlfriend.

It wasn't until I got cheated on that I realized I had to change my methods, and that's when I started looking back at the views from my journey so far.

I missed so many valuable lessons that I cringed. I couldn't stop myself from holding my face in my hands as I realized all the things I did that led me to my failure.

By incorporating the lessons from my journey, I was able to chart a course for myself that would improve my social skills and charisma to heights I never would've dreamed of.

By truly appreciating the views in your journey, your destination becomes that much sweeter.

3. Share the story

So, you've accomplished your goal. Now what? This isn't the time to get lazy! You have a story to tell, and nobody can tell it but you. Once you've completed the current chapter in your journey, share your findings and experiences.

One of the greatest teachers is ironically teaching others. By teaching the concept to others, you're forced to put it in terms that are simple enough for them to understand without them needing the understanding you've acquired.

This relaying of information that is simultaneously simplified and effective reinforces the information in your head in a way that is easier to understand.

When my little brother started getting attention from girls at school, I was horrified to hear that he'd been given the same horrible advice that my dad gave me. He was told to make her his friend first.

I told him to not do that, that it would only lead him to the friend zone, and that he needs to use a different approach. 

I learned from my own journey one simple concept: you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't, might as well do what you want without harming anybody.

I didn't want to become friends with the girls I was interested in, but I didn't know any better so I used that method. Now that I knew better, I taught my little brother this concept over time by telling him what actually works.

The result is that he completely avoided the whole devastating friend zone phase most guys go through with the girls they're interested in. At the same time, I got satisfaction knowing that he was able to avoid the same pain points I went through, as well as knowing that the stuff I taught him actually works.

By teaching others the lessons of your journey, you get two things out of it: You get the satisfaction of helping somebody who needs it, and you get the satisfaction of knowing that the lessons you learned are actually correct.

Embrace the journey, not the destination

Too many people in this modern age focus too much on the end goal. They want the result so badly and so quickly that they completely neglect the lessons that will allow them to retain their results.

By slowing down and embracing the journey, you exponentially speed up your own progress as well as exponentially increase your overall life enjoyment.

- Karl