Is the Bon Jovi Concert “Before” Even Better Than the “After”?

What do you like better – the before or the after?  Dreaming up plans and percolating in the anticipation?  Reaping the benefit of your accomplishment  and basking in the glow of the memories?  Which is more rewarding – the planning, the doing, or the reveling?

i think it’s safe to say most of us like that pinnacle moment of achievement the best.  But which side gives you more satisfaction – the getting there or the coasting once you’ve already made it?

i’m thinking about it as I sit here waiting in an airport on our way to San Diego for another Bon Jovi show.  

There’s a special energy about having something to look forward to.  The time, planning, organizing, preparing, and the endless possibilities of what the event could bring.  

Maybe for you it’s waiting for your favorite holiday.  Trying to get accepted into a college or chosen for a new job.  Counting the days until retirement, or at least a vacation away from your job.  For each of us the prize may be different, but the experience is shared.

When I was a kid it was building houses.  I loved using blocks to create rooms in a home for my little Fisher Price people.  Searching for furniture and decorations so it would be just right for them.  I would spend hours creating the perfect living space so that I could reach the ultimate goal of playing with it.

The funny thing is, I consistently would lose interest soon after my project was completed.  The playing with it was never as enjoyable as the making it.  It may be cliche to say “it’s the journey, not the destination”,  but it’s true.  

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My husband told me about an interesting book he read called “the E Myth”.  It talks about how, when starting any new endeavor, you need an E, an M, and a T.

E is the entrepeneur, the big picture person.  This is the visionary.  Here is where the seed of an idea gets planted and grows into the outline of an innovative plan.

M is the manager, the organizer.  This is the person who breaks that idea into the steps it will take to get there and who makes sure each one is crossed of the list until success is finally reached.

T is the technician, the one down in the weeds, hands in the dirt.  This is the person carrying out those day to day steps needed to eventually reach that big picture goal.

Each one of those is needed to take a thought and make it into a reality.

It reminded me of an adventure we took while on a trip to Sydney, Ausralia.  My husband, the extroverted one of our duo, after striking up conversations with folks we’d bump into, came up with the entrepeneurial idea of finding a spot many of them casually mentioned.  It was called Wooloomooloo and he figured it must be a hidden gem that only locals knew about.

I then took on the managerial tasks of setting a plan for how to get there, organizing our modes of transportation, and preparing the app map to help us find it.   At that point, he took over the technician duties of following that map to get us there.

it took us the better part of a day to find it. Each time we thought we had it ended up just giving us another clue to follow.  When we finally reached our holy grail, we stared blankly at it and just laughed.

It was an old wooden sign with pictures of a sheep, a toilet, a cow, and another toilet….. Wool-Loo-Moo-Loo…..

We wondered if the locals hid nearby to see how many tourists actually believed them and tried to find it.

Funny thing is, it’s one of the adventures we reminisce about the most.  And it had nothing to do with the ridiculous sign, well maybe a little…..   It had mostly to do with how hard we worked to get there.

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For me, as warming as the memories are, and as relaxing as it is to making it over the hump into coasting mode, the anticipation and that initial moment of achievement is where the energy is.  

The cool thing is, in life, no matter what your situation you can find something to look forward to to keep that motivation revving.

Maybe you completed the block house, but now you can create an outdoor backyard space for them.  Maybe you graduated from school and now can try to create your own business.  Maybe you got the job so can now work toward a promotion.  Maybe you beat a disease so you could now move forward and return to the fun hobbies that make you smile.  Maybe you retired so can now look forward to setting up a warm place to go in the winter when it’s cold at home,

Or maybe you’ve waited for your favorite band to come back out on the road so you could immerse yourself once more in the energy of their music.  You pick the cities or countries you always wanted to go, search for seats that put you where you want to be located in that audience, you mark it on you calendar, and then you wait.

Ah the sweet pain of anticipation.  Planning what you’ll wear, organizing what you’ll pack.  Preparing the snacks you’ll bring to satisfy your travel cravings.  Beginning the voyage to get to yours destination.  Standing in the arena as the lights go out and you hear the first chord strummed.

Almost there!   One more flight, two more days, and three more excited sleepless nights.  The journey before sure is intoxicating.