As the series showcasing Adrian Monk one of my favorite TV detectives comes to an end I thought it fitting to do a follow up article to one I wrote on Monk a few years ago entitled “Not Quite Perfect”.
“In the last episode I watched, Monk had an opportunity to take a test, which if he passed would help him get reinstated on the police force, something he wants more than anything. Unfortunately for Monk he did not pass the test...” GT Mar/May 04
Fast forward to present day. In the second to last episode Monk finally achieves his aim of getting back on the police force, but guess what, he is totally miserable. The thing he had been working towards for twelve years is now his and he is not happy.
In a scene that made me smile Monk said to his psychiatrist, “I was happy! Why didn’t you tell me I was happy?” This time Monk voluntarily quits the force and goes back to what he enjoyed; being a private detective. The reality of being back on the police force did not live up to the fantasy he had built up in his mind.
If you’ve been reading GT long enough I’m sure you know I found a lesson somewhere in that right?
The lesson…? People achieve a goal, and it is not always what they expect. The picture perfect situation they create in their mind is not the reality they find themselves in. This is because we get so caught up in dreaming about the destination that we forget to enjoy the journey.
Instead we often say,
“In the last episode I watched, Monk had an opportunity to take a test, which if he passed would help him get reinstated on the police force, something he wants more than anything. Unfortunately for Monk he did not pass the test...” GT Mar/May 04
Fast forward to present day. In the second to last episode Monk finally achieves his aim of getting back on the police force, but guess what, he is totally miserable. The thing he had been working towards for twelve years is now his and he is not happy.
In a scene that made me smile Monk said to his psychiatrist, “I was happy! Why didn’t you tell me I was happy?” This time Monk voluntarily quits the force and goes back to what he enjoyed; being a private detective. The reality of being back on the police force did not live up to the fantasy he had built up in his mind.
If you’ve been reading GT long enough I’m sure you know I found a lesson somewhere in that right?
The lesson…? People achieve a goal, and it is not always what they expect. The picture perfect situation they create in their mind is not the reality they find themselves in. This is because we get so caught up in dreaming about the destination that we forget to enjoy the journey.
Instead we often say,
‘When I get __________ I’ll be happy.”
“If I could just___________ I’ll be happy.”
“When I finish___________ I’ll be happy.”
However, like Monk we eventually realize that happiness is not a destination, a thing or a person it is a daily choice.
What do you choose?
However, like Monk we eventually realize that happiness is not a destination, a thing or a person it is a daily choice.
What do you choose?
GT Magazine Dec '09/Feb '10
Photo credit: Microsoft clipart
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