Chased Goals My Whole Life - Why the Finish Line Didn’t Bring Lasting Joy (As-salamu alaykum)
As-salamu alaykum - TL;DR: I’ve sprinted toward every goal - Math Olympiads, board exams, cracking JEE, internships, job switches, and aiming for work abroad - but each win only brought a short-lived high. Maybe learning to love the path matters more. Anyone else feel the same? For most of my 25 years, I’ve been on a nonstop mission: competing in Math Olympiads from 6th–10th, scoring well in 10th and 12th boards, clearing JEE, getting a summer internship, earning a pre-placement offer, changing jobs for better pay, and this year pushing hard for a position in the EU or UK. I didn’t get to move abroad this year, but I did land a great remote role with a Big Tech company in India, making close to six-figure USD-equivalent pay. Each milestone gave me a burst of happiness, but it always faded. I kept asking myself, “Is this really it?” I’m truly grateful to Allah for the opportunities, yet I still wonder why I invested so much energy chasing the next thing. Today I watched a streamer talk about something I’d heard before but only now really felt: if you’re not content in the present, ticking off goals won’t guarantee lasting joy. He expected to be happy at 10k subscribers, then 100k, but the goalposts kept moving and the satisfaction was temporary. Funny to hear that from someone like xQc, lol, but it hit home. Back in college, I missed top 3 in a hackathon and felt crushed. A senior told me sincerely to try to enjoy the journey instead of obsessing about the outcome. I didn’t fully get it then. I’m still figuring this out. Has anyone else chased big wins only to feel empty afterward? How did you learn to find contentment in the process - perhaps through gratitude, remembering Allah, or changing how you set goals?