A Discernible Narrative Arc

The excerpt below is from a book review Anil Gomes wrote for The Guardian, available online HERE.  Although I have heard this same thought expressed many times by writers as diverse as Kurt Vonnegut and Thic Nhat Hahn, there's something about the way Gomes words it that hit me in a more direct way:

Consider the fear that your life is a failure: (Kieran) Setiya suggests that this only makes sense if you think of life as having a discernible narrative arc, one which culminates in the completion of some long-travelled quest. But you need not characterise it this way. Many of the things that make life worth living are processes not projects, activities not quests. If I set out to run a marathon, then I open myself up to failure. But if I concentrate on the experience of running, then I partake of something valuable no matter the distance I cover. The value of a project lies in its completion; the value of a process lies in the activity itself. Fear of failure involves emphasising one at the expense of the other.