
At this stage of your career you have probably heard of the phrase “trust the process”. I look at it as an oxymoron of sorts, in that it can be used to inspire as well as manipulate the inexperienced.
In many career fields, when one is getting their footing on the game, this comes up alot whenever a show of necessary arrogance or ambition is exuded. It may mean different things to different people. To some pay your dues. To others, acquire more experience or learn more. To me it is simply a guiding mantra.
In life, just as everyone else, I’ve undergone experiences both personal and professional that have led me to this point. It’s the realization that I’m meant to be doing exactly what I’m doing at at any given point of life that has made me subscribe to this good old mantra.
I feel its power so much such that I do not question the process but instead I engage myself fully into it so that I can become the best at what I do.
All is inspired by the story of the man of the week, Nelson Mandela. As he prepared to join politics so that he can fight for the rights of his people, a young Madiba took up professional boxing in the heavyweight category!
Although he had the skills, interest, drive and determination; he understood his limits; honestly pointing out that “I was never an outstanding boxer. I had neither enough power to compensate for my lack of speed or enough speed to make up for my lack of power.”
It’s as if he took stock of himself and came to the conclusion that he was destined for a different, yet more combative albeit psychologically, career. Boxing was just a stepping stone to help him buckle up for the battles he would fight. In his autobiography, he wrote that “My main interest was in training; I found the rigorous exercise to be an excellent outlet for tension and stress”.
We can all learn from Mandela. Trusting the process is aligning your work to your goals, knowing your capabilities and knowing why you are doing what you are doing at that moment.
A sense of process also enables you to let things unfold by themselves because, let’s face it: process is the enemy. You are to respect and value it but never to put it on a pedestal because of you do, you will start your decline.
Trust and obey. For there’s no other way.
