Piwi on process and purpose…

First posted on my Facebook dated August 26, 2010

The process is more important than the outcome. This was and still is one of my favorite sayings that I used to share to other young people I talk to. But there was a long period of time in my life when I have somehow forgotten its meaning, especially when I needed to remember it the most. The struggle itself that I went through was already hard but the worse part was that I didn’t see any point as to why I had to experience it. Going through something and not having the right perspective on your situation will really put you in a tight spot. You’ll go in circles without getting anywhere. Sooner or later you become frustrated, you become angry and bitter, until you get to the point where you are so numb that you just don’t care anymore. Then, you feel like hope has given up on you. You feel like giving up. Finally, you hit rock bottom.

There’s always a process to follow in everything. In school, if you’re going to enroll. In different government agencies, if you’re going to renew your passport, apply for your driver’s license, get your NBI clearance etc., you’re going to see signages telling you to do this first, go there, so on and so forth. Equally true, in life experiences you’ll discover that the process is also evident though not everything has to be in order. It could be in overlapping manner. Sometimes, you would jump from step 3 then go back to step 2. It really depends on your circumstance. The point is, there’s a pattern or if I may, a process, that we follow and sometimes, without any awareness of it.

I find this true in my life. I’ve seen myself in the middle of a struggle trying to fight my way out, pretending that I was okay and impatiently insisting on going to the next step without accepting the fact that there was something that I needed to deal with and/or do something first before I could go on. Because of that, I’ve learned this lesson the hard way- trying to go against the pattern that you’re supposed to follow would impede your growth, stall your learning and waste your time.

The important thing to remember is that there is a purpose behind the process. I personally believe that ultimately, the development of character is that overriding purpose. So, if this is the case, there are times, and not all the time, that time is irrelevant so long as the purpose is achieved. In this kind of situation, patience is needed. You don’t have to rush things. Try to absorb every bit of learning that you can while you’re still going through it. Those learnings will strengthen your character. There are also instances where the situation calls for getting through it as fast as you can otherwise you’ll miss your lesson. The key is to acknowledge that there is a design in everything that happens in and to you. Don’t stray away. It will only hurt you.

I believe that an understanding of this process and the purpose behind it is the thing that can redeem you of your past regrets. Years of your life that have been wasted because of wrong decisions, opportunities that slipped by because of indecisions and any other thing that gives you that ‘what if’ thoughts are causes of regrets. But if we apply the process and purpose principle, we can look at it differently. Wasted years can be taken as years of preparation. Wasted opportunities can be dealt with as stepping stones for much better open doors. So you see, it can be a liberating lesson for us. You can say that nothing is really wasted then because you understand now that there is a purpose behind what happened to you, that you just needed to go through a certain process to give you that learning, give you that open door, give you that experience to strengthen you and make you a more complete person. Ain’t that cool?? Group hug everyone!!! Yey!!!

Anyways, I’m already sleepy so it’s time to post this entry. ^_^