There’s a tendency I’ve noticed in myself (and many others) that I’ve started to call “In a Hurry to Be Done.”

When I’m starting to learn something, or building a new habit, or starting a work project … there’s a big part of me that wants to be at the end, when I’m already getting the benefits of the habit, learning, or project.

For example, if I start lifting weights, I want to already be in the future, when I’m strong and I have nice muscles (which will take more than a year, at least). If I’m learning chess, I want to already be a strong player (which might take years). If I’m building a YouTube channel, I want to already have 10k subscribers, which will definitely take a while.

When I start a process, I want to already by at the place where I’m getting the benefits of the process.

That’s the idea behind the “In a Hurry to Be Done” tendency.

Interestingly, this is also the source of the overwhelm that most of us feel when we’re faced with a big list of tasks, or an overflowing email, or a big house full of clutter that we want to simplify. It’s overwhelming, because we want it all to be done already, instead of having to face the pile of things one at a time.

Here’s what I’ve noticed about this tendency:

• It blocks us from enjoying the process — we’re so focused on getting to the end that it’s not fun to be stuck in the middle
• We often get frustrated and discouraged, because we’re not progressing fast enough, instead of just accepting that we will progress at whatever pace is necessary
• Because of this discouragement, we will often quit before we get far enough to experience any benefits — sometimes if we just stick it out another month or two, we’ll start to see some of the benefits (slightly stronger muscles, etc.) and feel encouraged
• We’ll often get caught in the comparison trap, because we fear we’re not progressing fast enough, so we look to see how fast others usually progress, trying to compare ourselves to standard benchmarks (if they exist) or other people online, robbing us of the joy of where we’re at in the process
• Sometimes we won’t even start, because all of this can be so discouraging, robbing us of enjoying the learning and growth that can be had in the process

You might be able to see that we can counter this tendency by simply giving ourselves over to the process. Just pour yourself into the language learning, into the pile of tasks in a project, into the book writing you’re doing right now, in this moment.

Pour yourself into the process, and find the joy in it. The play, the art, the wonder, of each moment of the process.

If you do that, then the benefits will come eventually, but you’ll already be experiencing the benefits of the process immediately.

Habit change becomes much more enjoyable. Work projects, home projects, health and fitness activities … all become a place to practice enjoying the process. You’ll get there when you get there. Or … you’re already there. Age-old wisdom, found in the midst of our daily impatience, frustration and overwhelm.

with love,

Leo Babauta

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