The Fallacy of the Zenith

 

"Nowadays the world is becoming increasingly materialistic, and mankind is reaching toward the very zenith of external progress, driven by an insatiable desire for power and vast possessions. Yet by this vain striving for perfection in a world where everything is relative, they wander even further away from inward peace and happiness of the mind.” ~ Dalai Lama

My musings today are based on a quote by Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. - “Dopamine is not about the pursuit of happiness. It is about the happiness of pursuit.”

I was discussing the quote with a friend based on our experiences of hiking and achieving summits. That quote helped him understand why he remembers the hike up and down more than the moment he got to the summit. It got me thinking about another quote attributed to Ralph Waldo Emerson – “Life is a journey, not a destination.”

In life, we put a lot of effort into achieving various peaks and summits. That certificate, that degree, that size of TV, that X cc car, that weight, that title. Indeed, we track a lot of things in life – our savings, our investments, our blood pressure, our BMI, the number of books we’ve read, the hours spent on Facebook. . . everything is measurable and trackable too.

Most of us lose ourselves in the laser focus as we fight to achieve the goal we are aiming for and forget that the zenith of achievement is but a moment in time. Once that moment arrives, it will be short-lived and we will have to get off and go look for another mountain.

I have been to Lenana Peak on Mt. Kenya twice, and once to Uhuru Peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro. On each of those climbs, I mainly recall the cold biting wind and the exhaustion of getting to the summit. And of course the glorious sunrise at the top, but not much else. However, every journey to the top is etched in my memory. The sights and sounds, the changing vegetation, the buildup of excitement, the battles in my mind, the two opposing voices on each of my shoulders, the doubts, the self-assurances, the sheer effort to take one more step, the moments I looked back and took stock of how far I’d come already, it is an experience I may never forget.

The same goes for every referral I got, every paper I failed and had to redo in my pursuit of various academic qualifications. Finally getting the degree was an anti-climax for me the struggler. Those who seemed to be enjoying the moment were my friends and family who at that point were celebrating a peak point, without being involved in the struggle to get to the top.

Some people chase summits all their lives, from one to the next to the next. Never stopping to ask themselves if they are achieving their purpose in life, impacting anyone else, or just clocking one more. We need to reflect on what we are chasing and ask ourselves whether it is worth it. Are we just burning adrenaline for a small dopamine hit at the end? Is your journey impacting you and others? Are you building or burning relationships on the journey? Are you growing muscles on the way to the summit? Is your current chase making you a more efficient climber for the next summit?

The happiness of the pursuit is where the dopamine hit is at. The endurance built, the doubts assailed, the effort expended, the self-motivation employed, the problem-solving skills honed, the patience exercised. All of those count for the happiness we feel at the apex of an achievement. And those are usually transferable skills and traits that can be put to good use in another pursuit. I cannot take the summit board with me, I can only take a picture and leave. However, who I become on the way to the summit will remain with me and the one who comes down off the mountain will be a better person than the one who went up, if I choose to be changed by my experience.

What zenith do you have your sights trailed on today? Have you noticed anything special on your way up yet? Look around you. The journey is more important than your destination.

“The ultimate dream of an athlete is to compete in the Olympics. For us athletes, that is the zenith. There is nothing beyond that.” ~ Hima Das

“I think one of the reasons people quit is because they’re afraid they won’t be able to get better and better; that they have to come to a zenith of some kind.” ~ Conrad Hall