Enjoy The Process

We live in a hyper-competitive world. Students are anxious about their annual results. Professionals are anxious about their next appraisal. Business owners are anxious about their bottom lines and so on. You get the point.

This anxiousness does not allow us to enjoy the process. Sure, goals are important and attaining them is even more important. Ultimately, our results drive us to do more.

My point is – if we constantly keep our goal in perspective (and get overwhelmed by it), we become less efficient. Anxiousness (and sometimes fear) kills creativity. We rush through the process to see if our efforts are delivering results. Quest for instant gratification can result in sub-optimal outcomes.

Watching television can ‘sometimes’ be good – I was recently watching an old episode of a musical reality show. I loved the viewpoint of one of the participants. The host of the show asked, “Do you think you will win this competition?” to which participant responded –

“I am not here to win the first spot, I am here to enjoy the process of being with such great mentors and learning the music. I only focus on my next performance (and its preparation) without getting anxious. I know that if I deliver great performances one after the another, the final outcome will take care of itself”.

That is a great way to look at our work.

Focusing on the moment, on task currently on our hands enables us to fully express ourselves. One of the best gifts we can give ourselves is to enjoy the work while we are doing it (being in the moment) – and expressing our skills fully. It is both gratifying and satisfying.

Think about it!