Started By
Message

Not happy after achieving something you've been working towards for years

Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:16 pm
Posted by olgoi khorkhoi
priapism survivor
Member since May 2011
14901 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:16 pm
Who's experienced this? I have recently started a business and got my first huge client but any joy or satisfaction was so fleeting that it may have just been my imagination. I'm only focused on what's next. Is this normal?

I want to smell the roses, so to speak.
Posted by Martini
Near Athens
Member since Mar 2005
48865 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:17 pm to
The joy is when the check clears.
Posted by tigahfromtheham
On your left
Member since Jun 2005
5801 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:18 pm to
I feel ya. Been working on my next r5 in Marvel Contest of Champions for awhile now and after I ranked up my champ they changed a bunch of the nodes to make him worthless. Disappointing.
Posted by Masterag
'Round Dallas
Member since Sep 2014
18829 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:21 pm to
i think you need to search inside to see what you're missing. obviously it wasn't this opportunity, so it's something else.

success is defined by the individual and what you value the most. nobody can discover what truly makes you happy but you.

often, there's something we overlook from childhood or adolescence that we experienced but didn't know how to deal with at the time that keeps us from growing.

you've got to be 100% honest with yourself, search your soul, find what it is you're hiding from yourself.
Posted by jimbeam
University of LSU
Member since Oct 2011
75703 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:22 pm to
That's why it's the journey and not the destination.
Posted by cas4t
Member since Jan 2010
70945 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:23 pm to
The only thing better than a big new client is the next big new client.
Posted by tigrbabe08
Member since Apr 2017
219 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:27 pm to
Man some people just have that "horizon chaser" personality. It's a double-edged sword because while you're always looking ahead and striving for the next goal, you don't enjoy what you've accomplished. For me, it's fear based. I fear that if I stop and enjoy things that I'll get lazy and rest on my laurels. Then I'll feel guilty for not having started on the next goal sooner or accomplished it quicker.

In my quiet moments I wonder whether it's some kind of depression. The thrill of the hunt is more exciting than the kill itself yadda yadda. But that empty feeling you're describing almost makes you feel crazy, especially when everyone around you is clapping you on the back and telling you that you should be proud. Then it becomes a vicious cycle of, "why don't I feel satisfied? I know! I need to start chasing something new, that'll fix it. Ok that's done...why am I not satisfied now?"

I wish I could tell you how to fix it, but I think some people are just born to never slow/settle down. You know those men/women who always say they're gonna retire and just work and work and work until they're dead.
Posted by Tigahs24Seven
Communist USA
Member since Nov 2007
12178 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:28 pm to
I was warned of this, and experienced it, after finishing Graduate School....i had been working full time, and busting my arse in school for 2 years, and then it was just finished. It didn't last long, and I couldn't explain it how reaching my goal was such a depressing feeling, but it was real.
Posted by EarlyCuyler3
Appalachia
Member since Nov 2017
27290 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:29 pm to
Chase is better than the catch baw.
Posted by Garfield
Kew Gardens
Member since Dec 2011
7785 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:31 pm to
quote:

I want to smell the roses, so to speak.


That’s really hard to do well. Most people (including myself) have a hard time with keeping up with the necessary work to make sure the roses grow and remain healthy while being able to enjoy the current health of the roses.

True with building a career, building oneself physically/mentally and with raising children.
Posted by Propagandalf
Baton Rouge
Member since May 2010
2528 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:33 pm to
Self actualization is the highest level of Maslow's hierarchy. It's not a permanent state, but felt temporarily. If you are slam dunking it and not self actualizing, you aren't chasing the right thing.
Posted by MikeD
Baton Rouge
Member since Jan 2004
7296 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:36 pm to
Life’s the journey, not the destination
Posted by Jcorye1
Tom Brady = GoAT
Member since Dec 2007
71545 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:38 pm to
Cpa here. I was actually bummed out for a while after.
Posted by EA6B
TX
Member since Dec 2012
14754 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:44 pm to
I have been fortunate in being able to do most of the things I set out to do, and even some things I never planned on, but I think my greatest gift in life is being able to be very happy doing nothing.
Posted by RickfromArizona
Sonoran Desert
Member since Sep 2013
366 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:57 pm to
Time to find God.
Posted by fr33manator
Baton Rouge
Member since Oct 2010
124629 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 10:58 pm to
Life is in the journey, not the destination
Posted by tigerfoot
Alexandria
Member since Sep 2006
56523 posts
Posted on 10/18/18 at 11:04 pm to
Hunting for your own dinner just feels that way
Posted by celltech1981
Member since Jul 2014
8139 posts
Posted on 10/19/18 at 4:35 am to
I started college in 2007. I graduate in December finally. I took 3 total semesters off. I spent 2 years at brcc just getting my grades up enough to get back in to a 4 year uni. I should be happy but idk wtf I'm going to do with myself after I graduate. I have a good job so that wont be changing much. It's been my main goal for so long I'm gonna feel lost
Posted by Hammertime
Will trade dowsing rod for titties
Member since Jan 2012
43030 posts
Posted on 10/19/18 at 7:12 am to
I do. Even looked it up on Google once, but everything suggested I was depressed (which I am not). I guess I just like the challenge more than the reward. To me, that's a good character trait, because you're instantly going after the next goal.

Or maybe it's just my personality. I never have the happy emotion longer than maybe 10 or 15 seconds at a time, and it's usually related to someone else being happy.
Posted by stat19
Member since Feb 2011
29350 posts
Posted on 10/19/18 at 7:49 am to
It's a good thing you didn't marry and have kids, you'd be trying to figure out which weekend was yours and which was hers.
This post was edited on 10/19/18 at 8:08 am
first pageprev pagePage 1 of 2Next pagelast page

Back to top
logoFollow TigerDroppings for LSU Football News
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to get the latest updates on LSU Football and Recruiting.

FacebookTwitterInstagram