There’s nothing like a nice chest cold to remind you to slow down.  This is the reminder I have received this past week, and I must say I don’t much care for the presentation, but I do appreciate the message.

In the world of continuous improvement, success strategies and the endless quest for achievement, we sometimes get a bit overzealous about “the next big thing.” We pursue some dream or goal, achieve it, and set the next one, just like all the success literature tells us we’re supposed to. Perhaps we even feel a sense of accomplishment when we cross a finish line. But happiness somehow continues to elude us.

“Success is a journey, not a destination” so says the great wisdom. And certainly that’s true as far as it goes.  Success, happiness, contentment, even accomplishment — these are not events. They’re not boxes to check off.  They are states of being; sensory experiences that we savor when we are lucky enough to notice them happening to us. And they tend to be temporary. The key, though, is to notice them happening.  Success may be a journey, but that doesn’t mean we have to be in constant motion to achieve it. An important part of success is being aware of it when it’s happening — stopping to drink in the feelings of joy and satisfaction.  After all (and this may sound familiar if you read the post on goals being overrated), “success” isn’t really the point.  Most people don’t want to make a pile of money or run a marathon or lose 25 pounds or win an award for the sake of doing those things. They want to do those things because of the way they believe they will feel when they have done them. It’d be a little silly, and a little sad, if they forgot to feel the feelings after accomplishing the goal.

Noticing how you feel doesn’t have to wait until you’ve crossed a finish line. Checking in with yourself is an important part of your success journey.  Just as you wouldn’t try to drive from New York to Los Angeles in one continuous stint, your success journey requires stopovers to rest, refuel, and check your map. My friend Chip has been working on an energy management tool he calls “1-2-20-45″ — and the “1″ is about breathing. At least once a day, and preferably more like once an hour, take one full minute to just breathe. Check in with your body and your mind. Are you making the best use of your energy right now? Do you need something to eat? Some water? A stretch? A break? What is distracting you from your current focus? How can you record that safely so you can set it aside? When you regularly take the time to notice how you feel, you give yourself the opportunity to make small, quick course corrections before you’ve gotten really derailed. And when you take time to pause and pay attention to where you are right now, you also allow yourself to simply be there, wherever that is, and know that it is enough to be on the right path even if you are not hurtling down it headlong every minute.