Have We Been Chasing The Wrong Thing?

For most of our lives, we've been taught to value achievement. We worked hard in school, built careers, raised families, paid mortgages, volunteered in our communities, and tried to do our very best in whatever role we found ourselves. We set goals, reached them, and then moved on to the next one.

When you stop and think about it, many of us have accomplished quite a bit over the years, and that's something to be proud of.

Lately, I’ve been wondering - Is achievement the same thing as fulfillment? I'm beginning to believe they're actually very different.

That thought crossed my mind the other day while I was sitting at my kitchen table decorating cookies. Now, if you had told me five years ago that I'd spend an afternoon trying to get the perfect consistency for royal icing or celebrating because my lettering looked better than it did the week before, I would have smiled politely and wondered what on earth you were talking about.

And if you had added that I'd also be spending my days talking to donkeys, chasing chickens around the yard, pulling weeds in the garden, and trying to outsmart Japanese beetles, I probably would have laughed out loud.

None of those things were on my retirement plan.

Yet here I am, genuinely enjoying this season of life more than I ever expected.

I’ve realized that achievement often comes from doing what we think we should do, while fulfillment comes from discovering what we truly enjoy.

Sometimes those two things are the same, but often they aren't.

For many years, life was filled with responsibilities. There were careers to build, children to raise, bills to pay, aging parents to care for, and people who depended on us. There wasn't always much time left to think about what simply brought us joy.

Now, many of us find ourselves in a season where we finally have a little space to ask that question. What makes me feel alive?

The answer will be different for each of us.

For one person, it might be finally starting that small business. For another, it could be learning to paint, traveling, volunteering, or spending more time with grandchildren. It might even be something as simple as sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee and realizing there's nowhere else you'd rather be.

For me, it has been discovering the joy of creating something with my own hands. I still have so much to learn about cookie decorating, but I love the challenge of it. Every cookie teaches me something new, and every small improvement makes me excited to try again. It's funny because no one handed me this goal. I wasn't trying to impress anyone. I simply found something that makes me happy.

The older I get, the more I realize that fulfillment rarely arrives with fireworks.

More often, it quietly slips into our lives through ordinary moments. It's found in learning a new skill, sharing laughter with someone you love, watching a garden grow, caring for animals, or losing track of time because you're completely absorbed in something you enjoy.

Those moments don't usually earn awards or recognition, but they fill our hearts in a way achievements alone never can.

I've also realized that fulfillment doesn't have to be productive. We often feel like every hobby should become a business or every talent should somehow "pay off." But sometimes it's enough to do something simply because we enjoy it. We don't have to justify it. We don't have to turn it into the next big thing.

Maybe that's one of the greatest gifts of this stage of life. We finally have permission to choose things that nourish our souls instead of simply adding another accomplishment to our list.

As I look ahead, I'm finding that I'm less interested in collecting achievements and more interested in collecting moments—moments that make me smile, challenge me to grow, connect me with the people I love, or remind me that life is meant to be enjoyed, not just managed.

So this week, instead of asking yourself, "What do I need to accomplish next?" maybe ask yourself a different question.

"What brings me joy? What makes me lose track of time? What leaves me feeling grateful at the end of the day?"

Your answer doesn't have to impress anyone else. In fact, it probably won't.

But it just might lead you toward a life that feels richer, more meaningful, and more fulfilling than you ever imagined.

And perhaps that's the kind of achievement that matters most.