The Process is the Way

I was struggling last week with my book.

I got stuck and found myself not really moving forward much on the editing and restructuring I’ve been doing.

This made me feel frustrated and overwhelmed.

Then pressured to catch up.

Thankfully, my editor steered me back to the main things to work on.

It turns out, though it was hard for me to see when I was in it, that I was trying to do too many things at once.

I was thinking of putting many pieces together, when the main task at hand was moving all the stories to the beginnings of chapters and filling in any gaps.

This means not looking at a whole chapter, but at the beginning of each chapter only.

Throughout the whole book.

This is a very different process than how I initially wrote the whole thing. 

And I see a lot of patients in the clinic struggle with something similar.

They want to do so many things, or get somewhere sooner, they sometimes fall into that overwhelm, and/or the body flares up. 

When what they need most is to keep their focus on what’s been helping them get out of pain. First and foremost, at least.

It’s interesting to me that every process has its need for pulling back to see the bigger picture and zooming in to work on the details. 

You’ve got to pull back to see more of the forest, then go close in to wind in and around the trees.

In running training or fitness you see how you want to improve, then you put in the daily work in the form of workouts, recovery, and nutrition to get there.

In healing the body, I look at the overall posture and presentation and history, then feel where things are restricted and focus there.

Then, when the body feels less painful, the focus can shift to more movement and activity.

It helps to keep that bigger picture in mind, and not be driven so much by our desires that we ignore what’s hard, what’s unfamiliar, or fall back into our usual routines.

Though I think this is part of the process, too. 

In any process, perhaps especially challenging ones where we’re destined to grow, we fall back into familiar territory.

I sure did with my book editing.

I fell back into the usual ways of trying to do everything or move faster.

Which mainly led to overwhelm and stalling.

But in realizing, once again, that I’ve got to take it one step at a time, that itself was a win.

And that when I do, the enjoyment of each step returns.

With each smaller step I get to tap into the creative flow that I enjoy.

Just like the ease of being outside for an ordinary weekday run.

Or the habits of doing healthy things for my body.

When you take in the big picture of who you are, and then live the small steps with enjoyment, the process perhaps takes on a life of itself.

Whatever process you are in, focus on the very next and smallest “right” step. It’s really as simple as that. 

Feel the soothing of ice packs.

Or the relaxation from stretches that teach your muscles to relax.

The relief in a choice to do this activity or not to that activity because it feels best for you. All of you.

In getting clear on one next step and doing that really well.

Enjoy the process by being fully in it.

Enjoy that moment of clarity.

Enjoy the realization of falling back into the familiar overwhelm, then finding your way once again.

And then, become aware of the bigger picture like it’s a ripple of water all around you, rather than an endpoint on a line that you must reach.

Where you’re changing in many directions as you go along.

What process (or processes) are you in? How can you make it more relaxed? In what ways can the steps become smaller, easier, and more enjoyable?

Lara “just take the next step” Johnson

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