Have you ever thought about focusing on process over product?
In many aspects of our life, we are disciplined to think of the product. This is how most of us were – and still are – schooled. We care about grades, not necessarily about how we earn those grades. We want to be able to play a musical instrument well but are so anxious about the end goal that we cannot practice. Rather, we expect to learn, but not to practice the musical instrument.
We eye the goal as our intended result and neglect to enjoy the process. This often leads to frustration: when I reach this goal, then I will be happy. And because we were so intent on the goal, and not the process, most often than not we are not satisfied when we reach it, and we create another goal that will take more suffering to achieve.
But if we focus on the process rather than the product, we are instantly rewarded with a sense of accomplishment!
Each step of the process is a goal, and each step offers a reward.
As you approach the process of applying to university, try to focus on the process, not the result. This will immediately relieve you of all the pressure associated with applying to college or to a graduate program.
Think of the process as a series of steps that will slowly but certainly help you understand yourself and reveal aspects of your personality and your aspirations that you had not yet explored. And understand that learning is really realized through practice, which is in great part a solitary endeavor. There is no magic university or major that will make you learn.
Besides, learning is a lifelong experience. As the saying goes, “There is no goal in life – life is the goal”!
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