Most of us set goals and work uncounted hours in order to acheive them. Once we reach that goal, we rejoice for a day and move on to our next goal. Depending on our goals, we have different preperation times. Sometimes preperation takes a month, sometimes it takes years. Regardless of the time period it takes to accomplish our goal, we always have the end-result in mind when challenged in our process. When we are challenged, we are forced to focus on the end-result rather than the challenge we face at the time. We tell ourselves "The results will be worth it all" ...we are looking forward in to the future.
While this is certainly necessary during the process, I have found for myself that unless the process brings enjoyment or fulfillment of some sort, I tend to lose interest, get stressed or doubt the fulfillment that I expect the end-result to bring me. Not saying that things should be easy by any means because I love hard work, not just the results from hard work. Hard work gives an immediate satisfaction feeling, sense of accomplishment, and immediate rise in confidence. There is no delay in the enjoyment from hard work. It is enjoyable in and of itself.
This leads me to ask: WHY do I want to accomplish this goal (end-result)? Throughout the process my goal itself rarely changes, but the reason for accomplishing my goal often does. I doubt I am alone in this. The process brings me more or less appreciation for accomplishment of a specific goal based on my experience during the entire process.
Have you ever had 2 similar experiences and the first time you experienced something it was amazing, exciting, and gave you a sense of satisfaction; while the second time you were bored, unphased or disappointed? Sometimes goal accomplishment is a lot this way too. During one preperation phase you may feel satisfied or fulfilled, and another time you may feel a lack of purpose or joy during the process or end-result. Each experience brings out a different vision within ourselves. While we may always have the end-result in mind and may be able to visualize the end-result, the process often changes our vision based on our experience. That is to say that our goals will be everchanging based on our gained knowledge, exposure and our mind-set.
Think about a college class you may have taken, and walked away with very little information because you were not engaged and barely passed the class. Then years later, you find yourself in conversation about a topic your class may have covered that you used to have little interest in for whatever reason; for the purpose of this example I will say the presentation was unappealing to you. But now, later in life you find yourself actively interested and studying the topic just for fun. Ever had a similar situation?
This is to conclude that the presentation of the process is everything. We are turned on or off not necessarily by our vision that we see in the future, but by what we see in the present moment. This switch we activate often determines our progressional velocity. The more we are turned off, the slower we tend to travel toward to the end-result and vice versa. It is not just the goal (end-result) that is important to consider during challenges and obstacles, but where you are currently at in your process of progression that will ultimately affect your progressional velocity and overall experience. If you want to have an enjoyable experience, you must find a way to enjoy the process itself. This is why most people are great at things they truly enjoy.
Work hard, but most of all have fun!
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