Crafting a Life Series: Process over Outcomes
Download MP3We wrap up the series with a "fundamental truth": when growing, the work must be focused on the process rather than the destination.
High-Value Quotables
[00:20] "The fundamental truth is that when we are growing and developing, the work we do should be focused on the process and not the outcomes."
[02:29] "It is through exploration and growth and development that you actually discover meaning; it's in the process itself that meaning emerges."
[03:44] "Alan Watts describes it as if the outcome was the goal, the best songs in the world would just be the ending... be the songs that end the quickest and loudest and bestest."
[05:45] "Don't focus on the outcomes. Focus on the process, and the outcomes will take care of themselves."
The Core Concept: Savoring the Moment
In a transactional society, we are pressured to focus solely on the final product, but this diminishes the joy and value of the actual experience. Meaning is not something you find before you start a project; it is something that emerges from the exploration and discovery of the process itself.
Key Takeaways:
- Outcome Fatigue: If you only focus on the goal and the result is "garbage," you'll feel like the entire experience was a waste.
- The Outlier Trap: Don't shut down a process because of one bad outcome; you might be turning off a whole range of growth-stifling experiences.
- The Joy of Rearing: We don't raise children just to reach the outcome of them being 21; we do it for the joy of watching them grow.
- Coincidental Results: In the most important parts of life—like love or music—the outcome is coincidental; the value lies in the savoring of the journey.
Creators and Guests
Host
Brian Mattocks
Host and Founder of A Mason's Work - a podcast designed to help you use symbolism to grow. He's been working in the craft for over a decade and served as WM, trustee, and sat in every appointed chair in a lodge - at least once :D
