I love to write. I enjoy the process. I enjoy writing so much that it is harder for me to stop than it is to get started. I get so involved with the things that I write that I cannot remember what I wrote the day before because I am locked into the next project.
I believe that writing is the only thing in this world that allows me to produce something and not concern myself with what other people think about it (at least not in a debilitating or paralyzing way.)
I enjoy the process more than the result. There is no goal to my writing, there is only the process; the process is the prize.
I have a friend named Anthony Flynn. Anthony is the CEO and Founder of Gifted which is a team whose mission is to produce first-generation college graduates and produce marketplace leaders from low-income communities across America. He is also the author of The Execution Pipeline and a Self-Discipline Strategist with his company, Amazing CEO.
I listened to Flynn give a talk on the difference between having a passion for the process versus a desire for the result. Listening to him speak caused me to pause and think about the areas in my life where I am obsessed with the goal but don’t enjoy the work that goes into accomplishing that goal (and vice versa).
I love fresh vegetables but I don’t want to tend a garden.
I love to win football games but I never enjoyed the practice.
I love designing irrigation systems but I don’t like digging trenches.
I love hitting baseballs but I don’t enjoy picking them up.
I love to run in events but I don’t enjoy training.
But then there is writing….
I love to write.
I love to think about writing. I love the feeling of cracking open my computer, entering my password, laying back in my recliner and letting it rip. I love creating the featured image. I love getting the likes, seeing the shares, and communicating with the readers. I love the adrenaline that comes with pressing send and feeling the fear that comes alongside it. I love how one day my writing can feel like garbage and everyone seems to love it and another day I can feel like Shakespeare and no one seems to care. I love that my writing belongs to me and no one can take it away. I love that I make the rules and no one can tell me how to play the game. I love getting lost and forgetting where I am and I love finding my way out and everything drawing nicely to a close. I love the indecision, the insecurity, the creativity, and the flow. From start to finish, I enjoy the act of writing. There is no scoreboard and there is no goal; there is only the thrill of what is produced and the desire to do it again.
For myself, I need to look at what I do and why I do those things. If there are more areas of my life where it seems I am miserably tending a garden when all I want is a vegetable, maybe I should find more things that are similar to opening up a computer when all I want to do is write.
Tell me something that you are passionate about. Give me an example of something you do where the love of the process is more fulfilling than the obsession of the result.
Peace, Love, and all things Beef related,
Beefcake
I truly LOVE to grow a vegetable garden. It’s an obsession. I love to teach people how to grow their own food. But eating vegetables? That’s rough. I do it because I know I need to and because, duh, I grew them! I eat most of what I grow except tomatoes. I love to grow them and give them to people and that gives me joy to see their faces over fresh homegrown tomatoes. No clue how anyone can eat those things, though! Growing vegetables is my zen. Being in my garden and seeing food produced before my eyes is magical to me.
That’s funny how opposite we are in that regard. Someone who would appreciate gardening would also appreciate a nice front porch. It seems they would go nicely together.
We would be perfect neighbors! I’d grow the veggies and leave them on your doorstep each day. I could grow even MORE and feel even more warm fuzzies because I’d be giving them away to someone who loves fresh veggies.
Great blog Wilson. For me my passion is coaching kids. Showing them they can do more then they think. helping them to achieve their goals and beyond.