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Monday Morning Motivation | Are We There Yet?

Posted by Bill Esteb on Dec 28th 2024

Monday Morning Motivation Masthead

I’ll be happy when _______.

Fill in the blank: paying off student loans, reaching a statistical goal, getting the kids out of the house, retiring, or something else.

The idea that something in the future holds the key to happiness rests on an unhelpful assumption: Happiness is a destination—a place, a circumstance, something “out there” in the future.

But there’s no such place.

Seduced by this belief, we often turn our lives into a relentless pursuit, our head down, bulldozing our way into the future.

Are we there yet?

Whatever your goal, I’m sure it’s worthwhile. But achieving it won’t produce lasting happiness (emotional) or joy (spiritual). Nor will easing off the gas afterward, coasting, and enjoying the fruits of our so-called “success.”

The true payoff isn’t in the arrival. It’s in the journey itself and the growth it demands of us to become the best version of ourselves.


Bill Esteb

Bill Esteb, a passionate chiropractic advocate since 1981, brings a fresh perspective to the profession as Patient Media’s creative director and co-founder of Perfect Patients. With 12 insightful books examining the doctor-patient relationship, he inspires chiropractors worldwide as a chiropractic speaker, through HeadSpace Coaching, and consulting. His weekly Monday Morning Motivation, emailed to over 10,000 subscribers since 1999, continues to spark breakthroughs across the chiropractic community.

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