We should learn to value or trust the process more than the event. Are you thinking that reading a book or listening to a motivational speaker would create miracles in your life? Of course, the answer is no. Never overestimate the importance of an event and underestimate the power of the process. You might get the inspiration to start the process by attending an event. But, the process is ongoing learning which takes consistent, deliberate effort to grow each day. In other words, the process is more important than the event for a growth-conscious mindset. Therefore, attending an event or motivational talk or reading a book should only be considered a triggering point to learn a new habit or skill. What you do daily to hone that skill is what matters ultimately.
I watched a construction activity on a site right next to our office many years ago for many months. Initially, the land was sealed off with iron sheets with an entrance to the site before the commencement of the construction activity. After a few days, the digging started, and it went deeper and deeper each day. From my office desk on the 4th floor, I would look down to see the work going on every now and then during the day. I watched the engineers begin the digging for the foundation using hydraulic diggers. Later every day for the next few weeks, I noticed trucks shifting the soil out of the site. We know that longevity, stability, and safety indeed depend on its deep and stable foundation. Since I have an aerial view of the construction site, I could see what was going on in the site. However, for those walking next to the site along the road, it would appear that nothing is going on in the site since they cannot see anything visible.
After a couple of months, the earthwork was completed. The team started working on anti-termite treatment since termite infestation can weaken the building structure and damage wooden materials. Later, using reinforced steel bars, the engineers began building the framework for the foundation, followed by concrete work. After many months the foundation could reach the ground level. After the base was established, engineers started to build the walls. Almost after six months, people on the outside began seeing the building going up. However, I understood how much effort had gone in from my office, and the time it took for the building to get to that level. For some of the people looking from the outside, it appears that the building had come up ‘overnight,’ which was quite surprising for them when noticed for the first time. It is quite analogous to the illusion of ‘overnight successes. There is nothing like an overnight success, and it is a myth. You have to work for months and years to become an overnight success.
Let me give you a few examples and situations when we totally and absolutely ‘trust’ the process because we are extremely sure about the end result. Some people follow a hard diet because they know that the outcome of weight loss or getting back in shape is worth it after a few months. I am sure some of you might have already had the experience of enduring a long drive by bus, car, train, or flight because you always reminded yourself about the beautiful destination waiting for you at the end of the journey. Sometimes we take a headache pill and instantly feel relieved because we are sure that the tablet would start working within no time.
Trusting the process is long-term insightful thinking. It merely means a robust, resilient, and almost unshakable faith that keeps us going through difficult times with little complaints. It is because we’ve been continuously reminding ourselves about the end destination. For an athlete, trusting the process might mean having faith in his training abilities and his dreams of attaining success. It might be studying hard for a student and believing in himself that to clear the year-end or admission test with an excellent grade or rank. For a building contractor or engineer, trusting the process means having enough patience and faith to imagine a beautiful building upon looking at an empty piece of land. Trusting the process will give you the power to keep marching forward instead of feeling agitated, nervous, angry, or impatient because you’ve not arrived yet.
If you trust the process, you will stop asking how long it will take and start thinking about how far you can go. You will accept both positives and negatives, rewards and pains, sweat and tears, darkness and light during your journey to become the person you wanted to be. It increases your patience levels; the more patient you are, the more likely that you’ll be able to achieve great things and make all your dreams come true.
When you invest in your growth daily, you will notice small but progressive changes. After a while, people will start noticing that you’re not the same person that you used to be. Tell them the process you followed and be a rainmaker to support their growth journey. We all get the same 168 hours a week. Eight hours per day work and eight hours per day for sleep. It means a total of 16 hours per day. Therefore we have a total of 56 hours to pursue our goals and grow.
I want to make every hour count pursue my growth journey. After two decades of completing post-graduation from SV University, Tirupati, India, in 2001, all the hustle has led me to something. Today, I am working as the Managing Director of an IT company in Hyderabad. I am also a certified Trainer, Coach, and Speaker with The John Maxwell Team, USA, and my bigger dream is still alive. I have tasted success, and I want more of it. I want to grow, help, build, impact, serve others, and leave a legacy before getting buried.
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