Growing up, I thought we'd be living our best Hannah Montana life, the true 'Best of Both Worlds' life. The girls are trying to get it all: the corner office, the relationship or marriage, the friendships, the body, the trips, rah rah rah!

But genuinely, somewhere along the way, success stopped being something we experienced and rather something we chase. There's always a new milestone to reach right after the one you have been dying for. The goalposts aren't just moving, babe, they're sprinting!

It started with making it into university, then you did. Then it became graduating with a 4.0 GPA, then you did. Getting a good-paying job or building your dream business, you did.

Are we truly ever satisfied with the pursuit? Then comes the big question: wasn't this supposed to change everything?

Well, you're not alone. A lot of us live life with the notion "I know I'll be happy when...", which then puts us in a destination trap where, when we reach the destination, we're unsatisfied. Think about planning a holiday. Half the excitement comes before you've even boarded the plane. It's in looking up restaurants to try, clearing your SHEIN cart, maintenance day, aka the big 3! Imagine if you spent all that time wishing the planning away. You'd miss half the experience.

So how can we enjoy becoming, not just arriving? Three simple but practical ways.

1. Stop rushing the process

I am very guilty of this, I know, touché. Focusing on the finish line creates unnecessary stress that makes you miss the beautiful moments as they go by. I, for example, always focus on the finished product instead of enjoying the process. As a copywriter, I want to see the billboard up without going through the first draft, the second draft, the clients' touches, and finally approval. I tend to forget that the craft lives in the mess, and if I'm only happy once things are up and running, I've missed 80% of the whole thing.

Imagine if a baby went from being born to magically kicking a ball? Crazy, right? Where's the part where we're excited that they can lift their heads or roll over, or the cute and weird crawl? But life is just like that; everything is a process, so stop rushing yours.

2. Share your journey with others

This is a very intricate part of it: community. The English did not tell a lie when they said "no man is an island." There's a special synergy that comes from sharing your experience with others; it could be friends, your mom, a colleague, or a partner.

Social media has changed this though; we are being told to move in silence and swear to secrecy like we're about to pledge to a sorority.

If fitness is your goal, your best bet is always joining a club. This will help you with accountability, tips and tricks of the game. It will probably help you enjoy your journey and open your mind to more. It reminds you that you're not as behind as you thought. Someone who has been in the game longer will tell you they also struggled with exactly what you're struggling with today, and suddenly the journey is not as lonely and intimidating anymore.

3. Celebrate the small wins

This is where the trap is for most ambitious working girls; we tend to postpone life. I'll travel later, I'll rest later, the list goes on. We tend to forget that tomorrow is not promised, and life is happening right now. While it is important not to get carried away in celebrating everything, and then falling off track of your journey, it is also important to give yourself the sweet treats of life. I used to have a friend who passed, who taught me so much about celebrating life right now, in all ways, whether it was reading a guilty pleasure book, taking the weekend off after a heavy week, or even a mid-week cheeky margarita just to woosah. She taught me that joy is not something you earn because you worked your lace off, it is created daily while you are working hard.

But in all honesty, ambition has never been the enemy, and maybe happiness isn't waiting at the next milestone after all. So, the trick isn't to stop being ambitious; it's to stop postponing your happiness until the next achievement.

Ambition is meant to push you to grow, dream bigger and become the woman you are proud of. So yes, chase the promotion, save for the trip, start the business. Just don't make the mistake of believing your life starts after you have achieved it all.