It’s Time to Change the Way We Think About Process and Results
Process before Results. Not the other way.
Too many of us demolish the process game with our personal baseball bat. I am not sure about you, but I think improvement comes from the volume of practice.
There is some truth in the 10,000-hour rule. It is necessary for muscle memory when it comes to sports. We will become better writers as we write more over time.
Yet, we do not appreciate the life lessons we get through the process of quantitative commitment. For one, the time to greatness is undefined. I know I will get there. I do not know when.
Next, I want the results without any pain. How to get there, fast. How to get famous, fast. How to get rich, fast.
Sounds familiar?
All too familiar, I suspect.
We have grown to become impatient. I believe it is a system-wide behavior.
However, there is a future price to pay when we pursue immediate results without committing the effort to anchor our gains.
Take, for instance, dieting.
Professionals who choose liposuction over frequent gym sessions get to their ideal body shape within hours.
It is a painless and quick solution to their current body-shape pursuit.
However, skipping the long road has its consequences.
My friends who chose the liposuction route became upset that they couldn’t hold their ideal body shape longer than 3 months.
Deep-rooted bad eating habits and resistance to frequent exercise brought their bodies back to Square 1. The same body returned with less money in the bank.
It did not work out for any of them. Not even one.
What then, should we focus our mind on?
For a start, we should change the way we think about the process to get there.
Yes, we do not get our ideal body shape when we start working out. In fact, it gets demoralizing when there is no visible change in the mirror. It can remain the case for the first 2 months.
And then, we start to feel the changes. We walk faster without panting. The V-shape torso starts taking shape. The weight remains the same, but our heart and lungs feel much stronger.
And then the definition of our triceps and calves start appearing. Our cheeks are flushed pink with vitality. We emit a healthy glow from beneath the skin.
We start to look better and feel better. These changes last a long time, so long as we keep to the routine.
Sure, we can cheat a little. We might crave a chocolate pie for dessert this evening, and we want to skip the gym for a beer this Friday.
Our bodies allow for that — As long as we stick to a long-term, consistent commitment to working out.
There is longevity in the meandering path we take in life. Being human, we get distracted by the results we see today
That is because we tend to observe the wrong operational metrics.
The number on the weighing scale is a result of what we do and eat, nothing more. Of course, we can be upset with that number. But there is literally nothing we can do about it.
However, if we choose to focus on the number of gym visits, the number of push-ups we do, the number of times we run in a week — It will filter into that number on the weighing scale that we see.
I truly believe we have to change the way we think about processes and results.
When we choose to focus on the process, the results we seek will come.
Process Leads To Results!
Aldric
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