I’m pretty sure you’ve heard the phrase ”trust the process” possibly more than you hear your name being called out. Although popular, a few actually understand what the phrase means.
Now I’m sure you’re like “Sis it’s not rocket science… it means believe in: your dreams, capabilities, future and yourself…”; while this is in fact true, I think it scrapes the top & doesn’t fully elaborate what the phrase “trust the process” actually means.
There’s an anecdote that I love with all of my heart & that I also love to use when explaining what “trust the process” means to me and that’s the anecdote of a Fishermen out at Sea, fishing. Though, I believe that being a Fisherman takes great courage and skill, I think there’s another element to it that most overlook.
When they fish, they sometimes can’t exactly see what’s in the Ocean, they don’t have X-ray vision to check how many Fish are available on that given day… but they go either way & BELIEVE they will come back with Fish. They have a strong belief in the impossible happening & what do we normally call “believing in the impossible”? Yes, that’s correct…. Faith! Although, they can’t see if there’s Fish or not, they have faith that with their skills they will get something.
Now that’s the most basic way I can explain what “trust the process” means, so let’s get a little deeper shall we?
In my above example I used Fishermen who have ‘fishing’ skills & some of us are not Fishermen. Some of us are Entrepreneurs, Students, Athletes, Sales people etc.
- Entrepreneurs might use the phrase to express believing that their businesses will break even every month.
- Students, that they will ace their exams & tests every semester.
- Athletes might use the phrase to express that if they trust in training everyday, they’ll be fit enough to carry out their Athletic purposes.
So then surely the phrase “trust the process” interprets a little differently for each one of us based on what our personal situations are… still with me? Essentially, what I mean is, although, Faith is heavily involved in trusting the process, another huge portion of it requires that we have this ‘thing’ that we are doing that will render us whatever it is that we wish to achieve…a goal. Now this is what most people associate the phrase with but what if I told you that ‘trust the process’ doesn’t only refer to you trusting what you are doing NOW to render you your goal LATER. What if I told you that ‘trust the process’ means being PRESENT being in the NOW. Which is different from trusting what you are doing in the NOW ? Makes sense?
Allow me to elaborate; see, when you’re so focused on reaching your goals, you miss so many present moments, everything is calculated… you want to see the next phase, the next step….to a point where when you achieve the goal you rejoice and you feel some sort of longing for more right? Although, there’s nothing wrong there, some people don’t even realise that they’ve reached their goals because of how preoccupied they were/are with the goal itself. They simply miss it!
For example; you’re working on a pitch & you haven’t slept in weeks… all you’re focused on is making sure that it’s perfect so that when you present it you score the client. When you don’t it bums you out but you miss the lesson cause you’re so caught up on the loss based on how “well” you focused on making that pitch. In other words; you are not present, you are not listening to what the universe is telling you. Maybe that deal wasn’t for you but you don’t see that like that, to you you see yourself a failure. BUT had you been present, you would’ve said “ok, we didn’t get that deal. What lesson was I meant to learn there?”
Essentially, what I am saying here is, trusting the process is more than about believing that the thing you want will happen. Trusting the process implies being in the NOW! Celebrating your achievements as you go through “the process” no matter how small they are. Trusting the process is NOT being worried or nervous about the end result or goal… or wanting to reach it as soon as possible. It is enjoying the journey and what do we do when we do this ?? We are being PATIENT!
Which brings us to another crucial meaning of what trusting the process implies. Trusting the process implies being in the NOW! AND patiently enjoying the journey not worrying or being nervous about the end result nor fearing that your end result will be anything different from what you’re WORKING towards.
And lastly; Trusting the process implies that you must also stay COMMITTED! You must stay committed to creating what you want or care for. Being committed to your vision or thought or thing that you want will also eliminate the hurdles, meaning you end up making it happen naturally.
… I’ll end off with this empowering quote I love;
“What is possible and what is not possible is not your business as the divine will take care of that. Your business is to tell it what you want, commit to it and trust that you will receive it”
– Karan Johar