Jeremy Bentham’s quotes revolve around a variety of topics. One of my favorite Bentham quotes is below.
“Stretching his hand up to reach the stars, too often man forgets the flowers at his feet.”
Jeremy Bentham
Jeremy Bentham Quote Reflection
I am a big believer in having ambitious goals and striving to get there. For instance, one of my goals was to graduate undergrad Summa Cum Laude. I sacrificed and kept my grades high every single semester for four years. When I had the medal and honor, it did not bring me much joy because I was already moving onto the next thing, how to do well in my job.
This is a common problem for people who are goal-oriented and focus on singular “markers of success” that are down the road. They are constantly chasing the next thing because once they hit the market, they are moving onto the next one.
Enjoy Each Day a Little More
I still enjoyed my time in college and had fun. However, I could have enjoyed my time more, and been less stressed if I kept my sight on my goal, but took more time to “enjoy the flowers at my feet”. For me, this would be fostering more joy, contentment, and gratitude each day.
Enjoying the day more would have looked a little different. I would have played another round of ticket to ride with my roommates, enjoyed the long walk from class to my dorm instead of rushing to get back to study and taking long lunches with my friends.
These are all small, seemingly insignificant things that can be done each day, but they foster much more happiness than actually getting the award. There will always be more “stars” to reach for, and working towards them is important for a fulfilled life. But just because the stars require hard work to get to, does not mean that the “flowers” cannot also be enjoyed. These are little things that can bring the day to day happiness. It makes the journey to those ambitious goals much more enjoyable. And worst case, even if you do not reach the star in the end (or the goal changes) you still had a great time along the way. Enjoying each day is crucial to a satisfying life.
See this guide on what makes us happy to get some more examples of how to live each day!
Main Take-Away
- It is important to enjoy the small everyday occurrences while pursuing larger goals.
Action item
What are the flowers in your life? What brings you joy each day/week and how can you build in more time to enjoy them while still keeping your ambitious goals in mind?
