Enjoy the Journey

"All his life has he looked away... to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was... what he was doing." -Master Yoda

I've watched Star Wars a lot. An uncountable amount of times in fact. But for whatever reason, this quote from Yoda in An Empire Strikes Back never hit me the way it did recently when rewatching the movie. I guess I never realized what he was saying.

For context, Yoda (one of the Jedi Grandmasters from a bygone era) is arguing with Obi-Wan Kenobi on why he shouldn't train Luke Skywalker to be a Jedi. One of the reasons is this quote at the beginning: Luke was always looking to the future, an adventure more exciting than moisture farming on Tatooine. He never stopped to appreciate the present. He was unsatisfied to an unhealthy point.

This struck me like a gut punch. I've been very guilty of that. Wishing my current life away for something else, or too hyperfocused on the future goal that I forget to enjoy the process it takes to get there. This quote has helped me refocus for 2021, and honestly it's helped me refocus how I view various life stages. In those moments where I feel like I'm not doing anything with my life, or I'm not moving in any one direction, it's helpful to step back and remember that each day is a fun opportunity to at least learn one new thing. If I learn one new thing and go to bed each night just that more knowledgeable on a topic, it's a win.

I want to be focused on the future and on goals, yes! It's good to set those out in the future as an end destination. But I also want to enjoy the "car ride" to get to that destination. Enjoy the scenes. Make some friends along the way. I want to get better at realizing where I am in the present - to be present in the present.

I'm writing this, mainly so I can come back to this myself every once in a while to remind myself to enjoy where I'm at right now. But I wouldn't be surprised if others have felt (or do feel) the same way, so I decided to share this with the Codenewbie Community as well. Learning to code can be a long journey. It's important to not just focus on the future and that first job, but to also enjoy the process that gets you to that point.

P.S. You need to watch Star Wars if you haven't. Please.