From Here To There
Every vision we act upon puts us on a path from Here to There.
But on the way from Here to There, our desires evolve. No matter how far we go, what we thought would make us fulfilled feels just as far away as when we started.
In 2006 I was in Portland for a Barista competition and saw Kyle, the Stumptown barista trainer standing outside their Belmont cafe which was right next door to the Annex, their public-facing cupping room and coffee tasting bar. He was leaning against the building smoking a cigarette with one foot propped up on the wall. He looked like the James Dean of Specialty Coffee.
I asked him what he was doing, and he said he’d just finished a staff training and in a half hour he was going back in to lead a wholesale training. At that moment I knew that if I could have a job like that, I’d be happy for the rest of my life. Almost 20 years later, still working in the same industry, my dreams look different.
As I get older I'm becoming more convinced that There doesn’t exist. Our life is comprised of perpetual Here’s. We’re not on a static path, we’re on an ever-evolving treadmill. And yes, short-term sacrifice for long-term gain is part of the program, but if our never-ending Here isn’t bringing us any joy it’s worth considering we might be on the wrong treadmill.
Rewards come in many forms: monetary, autonomy, notoriety, etc. If we’re self-aware enough to put ourselves on the right treadmill, doing the work day in and day out becomes a reward in and of itself.