“How dull it is to pause, to make an end, to rust unburnished, not to shine in use!”

Gold! Up against the absolute agony of ultimate physical exertion collides the extraordinary rush of triumph, validation and relief. What a feeling! Winning an Olympic gold medal must be an extraordinary sensation. The victory, the applause, the podium, the anthem, the party, the adulation, the accolades, the breakfast cereal advert.

And then what?

What happens when the training and the planning and the race are over? What happens when you have achieved all you ever wanted to achieve in life?

This was the premise to a fascinating radio programme this week, featuring Olympian-turned-Adventurer James Cracknell. I found it compelling.

The question “now what?” is not only relevant to elite sportsmen and women. It strikes people who complete difficult expeditions too. It applies to anyone who has strived hard for something they want very badly.

I cycled round the world then quickly found myself thinking “What next?” There was precious little whooping and jubilation, certainly far less than something I worked so bloody hard towards for four years ought to have merited.

I rowed across the Atlantic Ocean, for the itch was not scratched. And during the row I felt convinced that THIS would be my last expedition, that blissful happiness and fireside reminiscences awaited. And about a week after returning home, I found myself excitedly talking about the South Pole once again.

I wrote my first book – something I had dreamed of for years. My publisher ripped open a box and there it was: hundreds and hundreds of copies of MY book. I had done it! I had written a book, published a book, and here it was in all its beauty! And the pride that I felt was so much smaller than the struggle had been.

This is the curse. The fruitless Sisyphean labour. The impossible quest for restless, ambitious souls to find happiness, satisfaction and a neat conclusion.

In the radio programme, Cracknell interviewed his wife, Bev. It was a fascinating interview and one I highly recommend for any of you who are selfishly obsessed with your dream, or in a relationship with somebody who is. There were piles of nuggets, but these three particularly resonated with me.

• “There are loads of athletes whose great race was 8 or 12 years ago who never find out who they want to be next. When you finish competing you have nothing else.”
• “What you [husband James] did so cleverly was to work out what you enjoyed from your sporting life and then applied those same passions to the ‘real world’.”
• “You have to be very selfish to be a top athlete.”

The programme went on to have lots of other fascinating interviews, including long-jumper Greg Rutherford (“years from now I don’t want to be known as the guy who once did a big jump all that time ago”), the Brownlee brothers (talking about how Johnny’s initial delight at winning bronze quickly faded to disappointment) and a couple of people talking about the very real symptoms of depression many athletes face after their Olympic High.

If you are bored at work, frustrated by your complacency, yearning for adventure, or concocting a phenomenal journey, by all means go out there and make great stuff happen. But beware also that reaching the summit is very unlikely to leave you satiated for long.

What do you think? Am I being unnecessarily negative here? Focussing too much on the difficult come-down? Or is it an aspect of succeeding at big goals that is not addressed enough? Have your say in the comments section below…

You can listen to the whole radio programme here for one week.