The Epidemic of Destination Fever

Jake Luehrs
October 18, 2025

ONE QUESTION

If you disappeared tomorrow, would the world miss what you contributed or just what you accumulated?

ONE THING TO PONDER

Happiness is about creating and making meaningful things, not about consumption. Consumption is a band aid layering over insecurities.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

Why do we read books?

Is it to get to the last page, or is it to enjoy the story?

We don’t listen to music just to get to the last note of the song…so why do we treat life as a bunch of little songs we just want to end so the next song can start?

We spend much of our time, energy and focus during hard times just trying to get to the other side of it.

That is no different than attempting to rush through a book without getting the lessons that it’s trying to teach you.

Are we living our life, or are we just trying to get through it?

I have no issue admitting it, there were times I was more interested in getting through it…I know I’m not alone.

But just wanting to get through it is exactly what causes it to be more miserable.

The Two Ways We Avoid Growth

It seems that we sabotage the chance to grow in a couple of ways:

In hard times: We tunnel-vision our escape. We obsess over when it will end instead of asking who we're becoming while we're in it.

In good times: We cling. We clutch at keeping things the same, terrified of change, trying to freeze-frame the moment.

We reread the same beautiful page over and over, expecting it to deliver that first-time magic—and wondering why it feels hollow.

Both of these options keep us miserable.

Uncertainty isn’t the problem, it’s the story.

I think about certainty and uncertainty a lot.

We spend enormous energy constructing certainty. We want guarantees. Predictability. Control.

This was me for the past 2 decades…constantly trying to control situations and people to match the certainty I sought or to minimize uncertainty.

But think about it…just for one minute…that you actually got what you wished for.

Imagine knowing exactly how every moment of our lives would unfold—every conversation, every decision, every outcome.

Uncertainty is what makes us lean forward.

It's what forces us to dig beyond our comfort and show the strength we didn't know we had. It's what transforms us from who we were into who we're meant to become.

The Path Forward

Are you collecting experiences and lessons, or collecting days until something changes?

The moments you're in right now—the messy ones, the uncomfortable ones, the ones that don't fit your plan—these aren't detours from your life.

They are your life.

They are the pages that matter most.

Remember, growth doesn't happen when we arrive. It happens in the traveling.

Onward and Upward!

PS - Share this with anyone you can think of that has done great things but may be struggling!

LEAD & LEARN : WEEKLY PICK

PODCAST

Brené Brown on the State of Leadership in America Today

On With Kara Swisher

This episode hits differently. Brené Brown has a way of breaking leadership down to its most human elements: courage, vulnerability, and connection. She and Kara Swisher dive into what real leadership looks like in uncertain times and why ‘power over’ isn’t leadership at all. It’ll challenge you to pause, reflect, and lead with more intention.