This past June, I wrote a blog post that highlighted my journey over the past year and a half as I diligently studied for the CFP® exam. The main point of that blog was to shine a light on the importance of establishing and sticking with a plan of action when it comes to accomplishing a goal. Thankfully, I passed the final exam in July. The past couple of months have allowed me to reflect on two life-lessons I have learned related to the accomplishment of a long-standing goal.

The first thing that I realized is that the satisfaction of achieving a certain goal may quickly result in a funny, or unsettling feeling, which asks the question “What’s next?” When you accomplish something that required you to work hard, for a length of time, there is value in setting aside intentional time to just celebrate and reflect on your arduous work. If not done intentionally, it can be easy to simply “move on to the next thing.”

This leads me to the second thing that I have been thinking about: the journey to pass the exam was more important than I realized at the time. This is something that we all need to keep in mind as we go through life. When we are laser-focus on achieving a goal, particularly one that is years in the future, we run the risk of not appreciating the journey taken to accomplish that goal. For me, this is something that I want to keep in mind for future goals: the journey is often of more value than the destination. As you follow the path you have set to accomplishing your goal, be sure to enjoy the journey along the way.

What about you? From your own life experience in accomplishing goals, what valuable lessons have you learned along the way?