Rob Foglia

I think we go after things because something or someone tells us to chase. That could be spoken words, a mentor, something inside of us. Something is telling us to chase. But all too often we forget that happiness doesn’t come when we catch what it is we are chasing. Happiness comes from the chase itself and only when we are chasing the right thing.

I’m inspired to write on this subject today because I’ve seen some of the things that my friends are going after. I’ve had in-depth conversations with friends who have told me about uncertain thoughts around uncertain goals who then continue to chase.

Granted, maybe they have done some soul-searching and reflection, and now realize that chasing that business goal is what will bring them fulfillment. But something inside of me tells me that’s just scratching the surface.

The chase. The chase can sound so sexy or exciting. When chasing something will supposedly lead to money and/or fame, the chase can be enticing. And don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with money or fame. But there is something wrong with just going after fame and fortune for the sake of going after fame and fortune.

This gets into something even bigger. This is about purity of the heart and soul. When we have pure intentions and thoughts on what we want to accomplish, the chase becomes pure. And yet, when these intentions and thoughts become clouded by egotistic factors like money and fame, we begin to lose that purity. Money and fame cannot be the driving factors for life. There must be something else.

Those who have experienced or already have burned out have likely gone through this because of a lack of focus. Lack of focus on the journey while being focused on the destination. When we chase the destination, the journey passes us by. But when we discover that the journey is the destination, that’s when everything begins to make sense.

So, what if we don’t know what to chase? Maybe we have hit burnout or feel ourselves trending in that direction and yet if we stop chasing what we are currently going after then we will just be aimlessly wandering around? That’s a real thought that that keeps a lot of people chasing the wrong goal.

When that happens, it’s about slowing down. Not giving up. Not closing the eyes and saying I’m done forever. It’s about slowing down enough to catch your breath and truly evaluate your life. I don’t mean taking a weekend off where you leave the work phone on do not disturb or off completely, and then begin a nature hike. While that can be a great place to start, it’s got to be a longer journey of self discovery. 

You’re on the right path because you’re here. I don’t just mean my blog, but rather you’re on the right path because you are seeking answers. That seeking itself can be your current chase. But if that’s going to be your current chase, then you’ve got to go after it with white hot intensity. Soak up everything you can on this subject, and not just from one person. Not just from one coach. Not just from one mentor. You’ve got to pull at every thread you can find. if you read a book on something and it’s really speaking to you and that book references another book, go buy that book and read that one too. If you’re listening to a podcast and they have a guest on and that guest sounds interesting to you, go subscribe to that person‘s podcast and begin listening to it, also.  Begin to chase self discovery. 

I believe that once we start chasing self discovery and really get planted on that journey, that’s when we begin to uncover things about ourselves that we have either repressed or we thought we lost completely.

This could mean that you uncover a passion or purpose that seemed like it was so important 10 or 20 years ago, but got put on the back burner and then forgotten about after being on the back burner for too long. This could mean that as you watch your child grow up, you get reminded of something you loved doing while you were their age and you begin doing that again now. It can be about rediscovering play. It can be about rediscovering fun and joy.

You don’t have to continue down the road that you are on just because you are driving that direction.

I used to think of my life as a car ride. I used to think that if I was driving in one direction on the interstate that that’s how I where I was headed. If I was heading north, then I just had to head north. No discussion, no detours. I had to keep moving forward. And say for this example, that north was a business goal that I had and west was a passion goal that I had, that I just had to choose because you can’t go north and west at the same time. I either had to choose to go after north or head west, and there was no in between. That’s where my head used to be.

Because of the chase of self discovery I’ve learned that life is not a one direction linear drive. It’s a circle. Or maybe a wave is a better example. It’s a ripple of a rock being thrown into a lake and expanding outward. If we only see one direction, we are going to miss so much. After all, there are 360° in a circle, and if we are only looking at 1°, we are missing 359. 

If you’re burned out or are burning out, then quit chasing the 1° just because that’s the path on. Expand out to the other 359. Inevitably, something in that other 359 will stand out to you and resonate with your heart and soul more than the one. 

That doesn’t mean that you quit the 1° that you’ve been on. But it does mean that you need to dial back the intensity on the 1° that you’re burning out on and focus more on some of the other degrees that you are passionate about. The ones that will bring you energy rather than deplete it. After all, the 1° that you are burning out on might be the thing that brings income into your household and keeps a roof over your head. You absolutely can’t drop that completely. But you can dial it back. And when you dial it back, that’ll create room in your life to focus on the things that will bring energy and will bring fulfillment. 

Those things, the things that bring energy and bring fulfillment, are what you need to be chasing. That’s the journey that you can get lost on. The chase where we can feel like we love every single day.

We find joy on the chase.

We find fulfillment on the chase.

And that’s the chase to get lost on.

– Rob 🤟 March 1, 2024