Appreciate the Process

With every stage of life, there is a process we must go through. Sometimes the process includes going through a little pain or discomfort. We hate it. We want it to be over quick. We don't want to endure. We get tired and weary and want to give up. Remember the reward (the end result) is much greater and the process is worth it. As babies we started out with no teeth. When it was time for our first set of teeth to grow in, we had to go through the teething process. It was painful for the teeth to have to break through the gums. However when we lost our first set of teeth in order for our "adult" teeth to grow in, there was very little pain or discomfort and we were at an age where we didn't even remember the pain of the first set of teeth. I can appreciate the fact that I didn't have to go through that painful process again.

In life we go through a process of growth. We learn lessons by watching and experiencing life. So there will be times when we must be in pain or uncomfortable. What we must realize is that the growth comes through the process of what we go through to get to a certain place in life. In your first job as an adult, you do not immediately become the boss. You must first gain experience. We have to make a few mistakes before we perfect our skills. If we look at our experiences as lessons, not meant to kill us, but to build us up, we may be able to have more meaningful experiences. The lessons we fail to learn are the ones we are destined to repeat. Have you ever felt like you keep going through the same thing over and over again? Chances are there is a lesson in that experience that you have yet to learn. Many times when we go through experiences, we focus our attention on getting out of the experience, not learning from it. We just want it to end. So we find a way out. Once we are out, we took nothing from it. Soon we find ourselves in the same situation wondering how we got here again. The key is to do something different so that you can have a different result. Now look at the situation as a learning experience. Ask yourself, "what am I suppose to learn? what am I suppose to gain out of this experience?"

It's so easy to feel sorry for ourselves in the situation or feel the need to "survive" the situation or even look to others to get us out of it. That is the reflex, but I challenge you to STOP, don't do what you usually do. Look around at your situation. Look back at previous similar situations. Ask yourself how you got there. Try to find the common themes. What are the things that are always present? We have to avoid our "reflex" thoughts, the thoughts we have immediately, those thoughts about "getting out." We have to think differently so that we can have more meaningful experiences where we learn lessons to take with us to our future experiences. That is how we become better.

The key is to look at our experiences differently. It is not a time for a pity party. It is not a time to go into survival mode, panicking about how we need to get out of this situation. STOP, think, look around, then act. Sometimes you will have to keep still for a while. That is something we really don't like to do a and is difficult for many of us, but the only way to have a clear head and think clearly before reacting. Just because "something" happened, doesn't mean we have to act immediately. STOP! Be still, take a deep breath and realize this is a learning experience. Then proceed. I guarantee you will come out much better and you will be in a better position to handle future situations. You will find  that when faced with a similar situation, you will not have to go through the same hardship, because you learned the lesson you were suppose to learn the first time.

Appreciate the process, that is where we get our knowledge and stregnth. We must value the process, after all, we do benefit from it. "The process of getting where we're going is just as important as getting there."