Enjoy The Process

Enjoy the process. We hear it often. But What does it mean when we say enjoy the process and the journey? I was pondering out loud and asked my boyfriend the question and it came to this idea:Don't miss out on the everyday moment by Moment things that got you to where you are today. By looking ahead and relying on that feeling of "I've finally arrived" you miss out on the mini sprinkles of joy and that feeling - it will never come. You never want to feel like you've arrived. It's that day you begin to settle and get comfortable, you'll look up and realize you've been left behind. It's the going through, the toughness, the turmoil that makes the story, that toughens you up, that makes you more relatable. But how do you enjoy the process especially when there's lots of turmoil, pain and suffering? Respect the process - or the journey. Enjoy it in an ironic sense. Make it day by day moment by moment. Don't let the pain speak for you or control you. Don't be consumed with where you're trying to be that you forget the step by step process.But what is it that is enjoyable in this process? You learn Pain management - you can't let the pain cause you to curse people, threaten or damage your surroundings in order to get what you want. you can't act out hoping that will make the process go faster. Let's say you have a really bad headache. You go to the doctors office or urgent care and they give you the remedy - the step by step process to follow - in the case a prescription to pick up an over the counter medication. Your instructions: take two pills with food and allow thirty minutes to begin working. Cool, now you know what to do. You follow the directions and decide to time it. 31 minutes later, you realize the headache is still there. Is it wise to start banging your head against the wall? In hopes to make the headache go away faster? If anything it'll make matters worse. The directions stated "to begin working". Lashing out through terrible behaviors won't help. Only time can ease the pain and suffering you've experienced. This is also in relation to my design journey. I want so badly to get paid well doing what I enjoy. I've found it difficult to find mentors that will teach and guide me through the design process. I think many creatives struggle with this. Many times it's going through the rough patches that we learn what does and doesn't work. We learn by doing, touching it out, and putting in the grit work. Quitting half way through doesn't benefit anyone. It only sets you back in the process, having to start over. I've learned and realized the journey is life long. But the journey is also very short. If you're a creative seeking to "do what you love" know that it takes time to get noticed, your work is valuable, and your work does not define you. These are words of encouragement and a constant reminder to myself. I also believe that this can resonate with people of varying backgrounds. Not just those in the creative field. Often times we lose our identity in our work- believing our work defines who we are. We are more than what we do and finding fulfillment outside of what pays our bills is all part of the challenge of life.