Process not product

Process not product.

“We shape our buildings, then our buildings shape us.”
—Winston Churchill

I spent the first twenty-five years of my life obtaining a Ph.D. What was more important, the achievement or the work and learning involved?

More recently, for about ten years I had a piece of paper thumbtacked at eye level on my office wall. It said:

Process not product.

I needed that piece of paper in plain view to remind me as I worked on projects that, ultimately, the process I use to achieve my goals is more important than the end result.

No, I’m not saying that the products of my work aren’t important; far from it. Rather, if I concentrate on my end goals to the extent that my awareness of the process I am using to obtain them suffers, then:

1. My end results will be inferior to what I could have achieved; and
2. I’ll be living a miserable life.

It took me ten years before I removed that piece of paper. Ten years to reliably remember not to plunge into achievement at the expense of mindful action.

Sometimes, old habits take a long time to change.

There’s a silver lining, though. By implementing change in small ways in our daily lives, we can better facilitate the change we seek.

Which is more important for you? Process or product?

Image attribution: Flickr user sixmilliondollardan