Process Over Product:

By Mudit Jha | 18th May, 2022

Often times the process is overseen by us as "messy," so we avoid sharing it. But, in fact, it is the process that really shows the learning and growth rather than the final product. The final product is like a resume that only shows what accomplishes we've accumulated throughout the years; this tells a person nothing about how exactly how we traversed our path and whether it can be recreated or not. This is why documenting the journey is equally as important as the destination itself.

What goes behind the curtain?🕵️

“The Growth lies behind the curtain”

👉 What we choose to hide behind our curtains is essentially what we value the most and effectively view as the struggles behind our success. Yet, we are vulnerable to revealing those struggles because they are full of mistakes, and we are very selective when it comes to showing our “humilities”. 🎭

Overcoming this can be hard but realizing the value it brings by documenting our process and “opening the curtain,” not only for ourselves but for everyone to view, opens a world of new perspectives and ideas. Much of which can prove insightful towards improvement and growth.

Documenting Astronaut: Chris Hadfield 🛰️

A great example of this is the Canadian Astronaut - Chris Hadfield who began documenting his space missions because of budget cuts in the Canadian space program. In 2013, Chris decided to show the real side of an astronaut’s life, so he began sharing his daily life aboard the International Space Station to the public back on Earth.

He would post pictures📷, record YouTube videos🎥, and tweet answers to questions that his followers had about space. His videos would be about things like sleeping, brushing, and carrying out repairs; things that are boring to us on Earth, but seeing them done in space was something new that people had never seen before. 🤯

Soon, he blew up on the internet and people loved his stories. All revolving around the interesting and engaging life of an astronaut. The fact that the Canadian Agency needed to support its mission gained widespread interest and thus, Chris’ insight into the process helped revamp the Canadian Space Agency.

⭐ This goes to show that everything we do can be interesting if we learn to show it in a way that brings value to others. People only saw astronauts as people who walked aboard a spaceship and returned 6 months later with some mind-blowing research or innovation. But, when they got to see behind the scenes, they could feel more connected and fascinated with the process.✨

Fascination brings along the next generation of innovators and thinkers who fall in love with the process thanks to the people who shared their stories.

🌅Focus on the Days!

We all complain that we don’t have enough time in our 24-hour day to get all our work done. We tend to think in big chunks of time- like years, months, etc.- and it's harder to keep check of our progress when we are so focused on the end goal. This is why some sort of daily report or documentation like a journal can help you map out your inspirations, mistakes, learning, and the tools and methods you used.

PRO TIP:👇
Keep a journal.📖 Nothing is more special than looking back at recorded self-dialogue and seeing your growth and journey in life. ✨

The reason why documenting in “days” works so well is because of our bodies. They function in circadian rhythms, which are essentially 24-hour cycles. We rise with the sun and fall asleep in the dark (well at least the some of us...🦉)

When we decided to record our journey on a daily basis, not only are we archiving our process but, we also learn to enjoy the process and appreciate the small steps we take each day.

📌Key Takeaways:

• Don’t be afraid to share your journey- what might seem normal to you, may just be something extraordinary to another.
• Record your process daily. The end product doesn’t matter nearly as much as the growth you went through to achieve it.

“You have to turn something invisible into something other people can see.”- Austin Kleon.

Read next: Why You DON’T Have to Be a Genius to Share Your Ideas!
Inspired by Austin Kleon’s, Show Your Work!