Today I was talking with a coaching client when the subject of process came up. Something came to me that I thought I’d write about here:
I’ll be climbing Mount Kilamanjaro in February of 2009. It would be wise for me to prepare in advance for the climb. When mountain climbers decide to take on a particular mountain, preparation is essential to a successful climb.
The preparation to climb a mountain make take months, or even years, yet the peak moment, the payoff for all the hard work, lasts for but a moment. The time spent on top of the mountain celebrating is minuscule in comparison to the time it took to prepare for that payoff moment.
The same is true with any great endeavor we undertake. The process is probably 90% of the time, energy and work involved in the project, while the time actually spent at the end result, that peak moment, the pinnacle of success, the payoff for all the hard work, is only about 10%.
An Olympian prepares for years to stand on the tallest box in the middle for a few minutes with a gold medal around his/her neck. The time spent in process was years, the time spent at the pinnacle a few minutes.
Sure, there’s lifetime bragging rights that come with each pinnacle moment, especially the ones we deem big. The gold-medal-winning Olympian only stands on the tallest box for a few minutes, yet he/she gets to talk about that moment for life.
Anyway, looking at life as being 90% process and 10% payoff has several advantages:
- The process can be considered enjoyable (considering we’ll spend most of life in process) and engaged in with greater enthusiasm, rather than being viewed as necessary steps to finish as quickly as possible so we can get to where we’re going. Each step in the process holds a gem especially meant for our growth and learning. We miss these gems when we’re tied up in anxious anticipation of the outcome. Waiting in the grocery store line behind the slowest people in the world can be a stressful experience when all focus is on trying to get out of the store and on to the next thing as fast as humanly possible. Another approach is to ask (in the middle of feeling impatient with the senior citizen who wants to pay by check) what am I learning here? How can I be more conscious and present in this right now moment? Perhaps someone needs a smile, or a prayer. When we are present in the right now moment, we are conscious enough to look around and determine what’s needed right then.We get to be fully present to the inner voice of wisdom and guidance that may be offering something valuable in that moment and we come to focus our attention and energies on what’s happening in the present moment without rushing ahead to outcomes.
- Speaking of outcomes, we’re not overly attached to them when we enjoy and embrace our process. Attachments beget suffering.
- The process creates character, which is the real goal. The other tangible goals we set up for ourselves are simply temporary markers to let us know how well our process is working.
I used to tell my teenage daughter, who was anxious to get out of school, that there are valuable things to be learned in the process of going to school. In the mad dash to graduation day, valuable lessons can be overlooked.
When we try to rush through our process to get to the end result, we miss valuable lessons and gifts along the way. Remember,
Today, enjoy the process.
To your success,
Valerie Love
