"Almost there" and "Are we there yet?"

There's an experience everyone that runs or hikes can relate to. People feel compelled to tell you that you are "almost there". It is a weird thing and it can get irritating. Do they think I don't know where I am? Do they think I'm not going to make it? How do they know what my idea of "almost there" is? What if I am in the moment and don't want to be pulled out of it. What if I relish a hike unfolding on it's own?

It's a different thing if someone asks for information. What I'm talking about is unsolicited, intrusive "help".

Experienced runners and hikers know better and volunteers at events are usually trained so it is typically the inexperienced that are the guilty parties. It's not their fault, they don't know any better. However, it is a common enough thing that it makes one wonder.

When I'm running I try not to think about where I am. I try to focus just on keeping a pace. When I get tired, I try to set short term goals. I focus on a landmark in the near distance. I only start to think about the finish when I can see it. Focusing only on the finish makes it seem harder, farther, tedious. Kids on a car trip will keep asking "are we there yet?". If you tell them that it's a long ways away they'll settle in and enjoy the trip.

"Almost there" and "Are we there yet?" are symptoms of goal obsession.

When I'm running or hiking I always have a goal but other than navigating a trail I generally don't think about the goal until I am there. I am running for exercise and hiking for pleasure. I've learned that only thinking about the goal makes the journey tedious. Also, over emphasizing the goal can make it anticlimactic. Often the coolest part of a hike is not the peak. If you only focus on the summit you will likely miss many opportunities along the way. That little waterfall, an amazing looking old tree, people you meet on the way, ...

The journey is as important as the goal. Sometimes it is more important than the goal. I suspect that this is true of life in general. One could even argue that the journey is more important than the goal.

That doesn't make goals unimportant. I want good exercise value when I run or hike so I have a pace or time in mind. I do want to summit the peak. A goal puts a journey in context. In the long term each individual goal is part of a bigger picture, a longer term or broader goal. Ursula K. LeGuin's "Paradise Lost" is about what can happen when the journey becomes the only thing.

A goal prevents complacency and stagnation. Set goals but don't obsess on them. Don't keep asking "Am I there yet?". Be open to enjoying the little things on the way. Take the time to sit by that little rock pool and cool off.