Life Choices

I Hate the Process…

by Josiah Samuel Harry

I will be the first to admit that I hate the process. 

I hate grinding twelve to fourteen hours a day just to make one of my many ambitions a reality, which is to become an international best-selling author. Why couldn’t I have the luxury of having a Genie to grant me three wishes? 

I want to be clear. I am not anti-process. I just hate the process.

theprocess

I am one of those individuals who wished he had a physique like The Rock, but without having to hit the gym every day. I wish there was a magical pill to put on muscle mass—I’d pop a handful in a heartbeat. 

I like being able to walk through a peach orchard (like I used to do in Michigan) and pick a ripe peach off the tree and enjoy the ocean burst of carotenes and flavonoids satisfying my palate and invigorating my body. I did not have to toil and labor watching the trees grow. Like the birds, I just dropped in after all of the intensive work had been done, and enjoyed the fruit [pardon the pun] of someone else’s labor. 

What can I say, I tend to be outcome oriented. But here’s the catch! You’ve been waiting for the catch, weren’t you? Because I know how much I dislike the process, I double and triple down on my effort. That’s right, I put in the work despite the fact that I find the process entirely unappealing. That mindset is based on discipline. Bob Proctor maintained that discipline is giving yourself a command and following it. 

There is no escaping the process. The bigger the goal, the more tedious the process.

If the truth be told, many of us want the “lifestyle”—the stardom, the bling, the high-status artifacts, the influence— but we do not want to put in the WORK to attain that lifestyle, whatever it is. We want to shine bright like a diamond, but we do not want to be put through the process—the high temperature, the high pressure, the cutting, the polishing of becoming a diamond. 

If you truly want to shine bright like a diamond, then you will have to earn it. Success has to be earned. Wealth has to be earned. Anything of value has to go through a process. The process is difficult and is not for the weak, coward, or indolent. If the process was easy, then everybody would be shining brightly. A diamond becomes a diamond only after it has gone through an incredibly slow, long, and punishing process—which usually takes millions of years. 

There is no escaping the process. And the bigger the goal, the more tedious the process. If you have the audacity to dream big, then you must be prepared to deploy a ridiculously insane amount of work and effort to achieve your goals. There is no other way or method to becoming great. You’ve got to put in the work—lots of it. 

I still plan to become an overnight success—but only after I have put in the work. It might take me ten or twenty years (hopefully less), but I have made up my mind that I am in for the long haul. So, I might as well enjoy the process…or maybe not. 

See you at the top!

Upcoming post: “When Aiming High Is Not Enough”

 

Photo credit -https://i.ytimg.com/vi/ByaATyPTs1A/maxresdefault.jpg-

 

 

48 thoughts on “I Hate the Process…”

  3. Are you actually writing 14 hours a day? This is hard to fathom…or does that 14 hours include other activities? (I simply cannot sit still that long…) “I hate grinding fourteen hours a day just to make one of my many ambitions a reality..”

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    1. George, yes, I literally spend 14 solid hours a day (Mon-Fri) writing. 7 hours writing/researching/developing blog posts, 3 hours on nonfiction work, and four hours on my fiction series, which I plan to release in the summer. I do a little less on the weekends (arnd 10-12 hrs total). It helps that I work from home.

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  5. This is such a simple thought but overlooked by many. My husband is always telling me “Megan you always want things to just appear, to just happen, but things take work. ” you and my husband are right! I like your whole thought here and it can be applied to just about any area of life. I’ll become a better parent because of this reminder. Thank you. And good luck on your endeavors!

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    1. Megan, you’re on point with your assessment. Trusting the process most often works in one’s favor. We all want things to just appear…it’s human nature. But it’s the smart tortoise that wins the race. Thank you for adding value to the conversation.

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  7. “Trust the Process” has been my inspiration for long now …you got me worried a bit with how you began the article 🙂 …then I exhaled and told myself that you surely are building to something …and you surely did! 🙂
    I agree insanity is a requirement and that overnight success is possible …if we keep stacking up right towards that night!

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    1. Hi PD! I appreciate your thoughts as always. And yes…I created a bit of suspenseful tension to drive home the point. 😊 Once we’re executing, all that’s left is to trust that the process will yield a bountiful harvest. 🙂

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  8. Joseph Conrad discussed the importance of “work” (another word for “the process”) in Heart of Darkness and he noted that even though none of us like the work/the process, we like what we find in the work: ourselves. Thanks for your honest writing about writing.

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  14. Again a g8 post,
    going through a rough patch, nothing happening, all I do go wrong, but I trust, one day I will shine, enjoying the ride. Maybe it’s God’s way of saying, my life is under construction.
    Bigger and larger things usually take much time to construct. 😃
    Waiting for your next. 😃

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    1. Please allow me to jump right in and say, it’s not that you are doing something wrong; rather, you are simply aware of what is not working at this point. This is an uncomfortable yet great place to be because each attempt, each step is taking you closer to your goal. So keep pressing on and the process will reward you richly. 😉

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      1. Rightly said, I was a wandering soul before coming to know that my heart lies in books and writing. I used to write in my diary just to flush away my emotions, but never thought to take it seriously. I am working on my first romance novel, which is in last stage and will soon start sending publishers for their consideration. Fingers crossed. 😄

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Josiah, I started following you just recently. You liked a post I wrote and I decided to see what you wrote… I read a couple posts and I started following you too. I like the way you write. It is interesting and challenges me to think about it for a long while after. Thank you!
    Today’s article about hating the process is very true and I can totally relate. I like that you talk about discipline, it is important. I found out though that the “hate” part is truer for some aspects of my work. The ones I don’t really like as much, I guess.
    I teach the Zentangle Method® which is also about the process. It is about enjoying the moment, taking the time needed. This is the journey that takes you to the end. The end is just the bonus. What a bonus in your case! I wish you that end result to become an international writer.
    It would be a waste though not to enjoy the process, don’t you think? Imagine all these hours of our life that we lost to “hate”. But it is probably easier said than done. Hence the discipline.
    Thanks again for this article.
    Ps: I apologize if my writing is not up to the level. It is sometimes difficult to express oneself in a language that is not one’s own.

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    1. Juliette, your words are filled with life and for that reason I say, thank you! 🙂 And yes, it is on the path to becoming that one develops and learns what truly matters in life. Keep up the good effort on your end!

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  19. I really needed to read this post! Thank you for following Jodi Lea’s Place, I am flattered to be followed by you – a man of many followers and much wisdom. I am hating the process of having to re-outline my novel so I can tie things up and write the ending. I need to make up my damned mind – this is the huge stumbling block, and the lesson learned about why I need to make a more detailed outline before I start! Sigh. After four years of writing, researching (and having some fun with it too) I am ready to ‘get er done’.

    Thank you for your thoughts and inspiration about working hard to reach where you dream of going!

    Jodi Lea

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    1. Hi Jodi Lea. I think it is awesome that the Universe has aligned our paths. It would seem that you have accomplished the most difficult part and that’s “executing.” Now, it is time to let the market validate your work by getting it out there to the readers. I believe in you!

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  20. I think there’s a recurring idea that if you don’t like the process something is wrong, but I think that whenever a person chooses to say “I am going to succeed”, the task is shifting from a casual hobby to a profession, and that requires consistent and diligent effort. I’ve even heard some people propone that “the experience of getting frustrated, and struggling to succeed, is part of what makes the task satisfying when we do succeed.”

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