Process over Outcome

One day in my eight grade English class, we were receiving the results of a pop quiz.

I had graduated from ESL (English as a Second Language) to “normal” classes just a few months previous and still felt like I had to climb a mountain to master my new language. Anything other than perfection would mean that I would not be able to acclimate to my new life, or so I thought.

My teacher handed me the quiz. I took a glance at the upper right corner. My heart sank. Tears burst through as if they pierced a levy. “Camilo, what’s wrong?” my teacher asked. “I needed to get 100% on this quiz”, I replied. She looked at me perplexed. “You got an 89%, that’s great! Why are you crying?”. I never responded. My tears drowned my words. Coincidentally, this was my coronation into the “dweeb” hall of fame at my middle school. But I’ll save the details of that for my therapist. 

I think about this anecdote often. It encapsulates many of the mindsets we grow up with. The hunt for perfection. Focus on getting good grades/results. Failure not being associated with learning or self-improvement. This way of thinking stunted my creative expression for years, nay, decades.

After a few existential crises over the past years (Hello, COVID-19), I began noticing these mindsets and started questioning them. This journey has yielded a powerful principle that can be that I’ve seen manifested everywhere; sports, art, business, etc.

Process over outcome

In a world of grades, OKRs, trophies, promotions, etc., it can sound ridiculous to say “forget all that.” We believe outcomes provide certainty—a lighthouse in the tempestuous waters we navigate every day. By fixing our gaze on this lighthouse, we become myopic—too dependent on external validation, and let that become our exclusive compass.

There is a better way. 

That way is to honor the process. Famous author and modern patron saint of creatives, Seth Godin calls it “The Practice.” For Godin, the practice is “The process of creation in service of better. The practice is not the means to the output, the practice is the output, because the practice is all we can control.”

It is within our agency to see that the process, or as Seth refers to it—the practice—is both the journey and destination for the mere reason that it is all we can control. The simplicity of this lesson has stuck with me ever since I read it. 

It’s not easy to apply this principle everyday. Our society is designed to focus on outcomes, accolades, prizes, outputs, etc. All of these become what author Steven Pressfield describes as the “Resistance.” A formidable foe that inhabits our mind and is keenly aware of our weaknesses, knows the right words to make us doubt, and feeds from our outcome driven world to knock us off our feet. 

But if we want to walk the alternate path, we must fight Resistance. And that means showing up, day after day,  and doing the work we are called to do. Nothing else matters—not the accolades, not the failures—nothing. 

In his book “The War of Art”, Pressfield asserts that “The more important a call or action is to our soul’s evolution, the more Resistance we will feel towards pursuing it.” Later in his book, he states “The professional concentrates on the work and allows the rewards to come or not come, whatever they like”. 

To be a professional and to conquer Resistance. That is Steven’s challenge to us, and one I think about nearly every day. 

I may not be able to go back in time and tell the 12-year old me to not cry. Nor am I able to broadcast this message to every single human on this planet. But if you are reading this, if you just happened to dedicate the last 5 minutes of your conscience reading these words, you owe it to yourself to honor the process. What decisions have you made because you were seeking a specific outcome? What tension do you feel when you think of a life where you are not driven by the need to achieve? Is that so unreasonable? 

These questions don’t have overnight answers. I’m still learning that they arise every morning, along with the sun, challenging me to unlearn old mindsets, and nurture new ones. If I’m doing it right, I embrace it with grace, for it is not a destination I’m seeking, but a journey. 

Let’s go on this journey together.