04 - Process and Progess
Leaning into the process of things while not losing sight of the progress along the way
I have been known to preach the virtue of process. I think my focus on it is one of the key things that makes me, well me. It drives my athletic pursuits, my business pursuits and is the framework in which I navigate life’s big goals.
I have learned that leaning into the process of doing things is more important than the goal itself. It’s a much healthier way of living to embrace the journey more than the end result. The bigger and harder the goal, the more this is necessary. Delayed gratification is almost required to train and prepare for something like a 100 mile race. It’s interesting that my interest in intensely process heavy pursuits has predated me learning about all of the psychological advantages to taking on all things in life in this way. I guess I had a head start at setting up my life to be successful in this mindset. I’ve always liked figuring out things, learning how things are made, getting lost in the details, being proud of the process and being content living in the endless state of process.
I struggle more with recognizing and being more proud of progress. It’s important that we don’t just get so involved in the process of things so much that we cannot see the important progress we have made. It’s good to zoom out sometimes and appreciate how far you have come. In the dogged pursuit of focusing on process, it can be easy for people like me to lose the wider view and be truly happy with what we have accomplished. I need to get better at recognizing my wins, to be proud of how far I’ve come. I tend to feel the need to only have such reflections or feel the need to share anything once I have crossed over some sort of finish line or tangible end point. For someone who purposefully and proudly doesn’t need too many of those moments to be fulfilled, it leaves me with few opportunities to proclaim, “Hey, look, I did the thing”. I need to do a better job at sharing and recognizing progress along the way, even if it isn’t a finished product or result. We can be proud of progress without a result, just like we can be proud of process with a result.
Process and progress aren’t opposites. One isn’t a better concept to lean into versus the other. Let’s lean into both, as they both help build us up and make us better versions of ourselves.
I hope to start sharing more process and progress on a lot of my pursuits in life on this platform. More details to follow on all of these in the coming months, but here is a list of exciting things I have building at the moment. Nothing is finished (is anything ever?), but here is me making an attempt at highlighting some cool stuff I have cooking.
I have been busy prototyping running vests for the last few months. I’m super excited about how the newest ones have been coming out! I’ve been running in my own vests all summer and they are holding up to the trial of miles so far! I’ve started a small testing program with some close friends, and I’m excited to expand that to more people once I make some more prototypes. These things take a ton of time, so patience on production, but I’m inching one step closer all the time.
Packs are getting closer to resembling a usable product, thats kinda neat! While working on the sexy stuff of making cool prototypes, I’m also working a lot on behind the scenes business stuff for borderline designs. I recently got a few more sewing machines, I’m now up to 6 total. Working on getting used to those and getting them running smoothly has been a priority. Shipping and other logistics are leveling up now too, so that’s also happening.
Proud of myself for figuring out how to thread this thing. Not completely there yet, but hey, progress. I’ve been running a lot. I’m racing Run Rabbit 100 mile in only a few days now! The training volume has been going well. I’m really happy with this training block and focusing on a lot of details that should make a big difference on race day. I’m so excited to send it in Steamboat against a stacked field that will surely bring the best out of me. This feels like the first “normal” 100 miler I have done since running a breakthrough race at The Bear 100 in 2021 (sorry Hardrock, but that experience can’t quite compare to anything else). That was 3 years ago, which feels like an eternity. I have come so far as an athlete and a person since 2021, so I’m so ready to show the world the athlete I’ve become since then.
That’s it for updates on my process and progress for now. It feels good to not shy away from sharing these things. I know I don’t need to share everything to be fulfilled, but I also don’t need to not share things to be happy either. Let’s lean into embracing process and progress, because in the end that’s all we are guaranteed in life. Let’s build cool things together, let’s enjoy doing it, let’s celebrate every step of the way!