There’s a lot of research happening around achievement. One of the most illuminating discoveries so far is that achievement doesn’t make us happy. Once we achieve a goal, research is showing that there is a brief period of elation often followed by a long period of depression. Perhaps you’ve heard the expression “it’s about the journey”. Well, it really is. That’s not to say that achieving goals isn’t good for our well-being. It is a major footprint in Martin Seligman’s model for well-being. Research is showing that it’s about how we contextualize achievement as a marker along the way of our life-journey.

What about motivation? I certainly grew up thinking that motivation was going to lead to success and happiness. This is now being disproven. It’s actually daily habits that make us achieve and grow. I highly recommend reading James Clear’s book called “Atomic Habits” to learn more about how to develop habits and the role they play in our life-goals and our sense of fullfillment.

Here’s a brief TED talk about goals and happiness that helps illustrate what I’m talking about: