In previous articles, I talked about the power of patience. I mentioned why that’s the most important rule for success. But you may ask “How can I be patient when the final success is so far away and there are so many obstacles along the way?”
Being patient is indeed difficult in practice. But there’s a mindset that when you adopt, you can become patient. In fact, you can turn the pain of patience into joy.
This mindset has its root in eastern philosophies, in particular Taoism.
One of the premises of Taoism is that the journey is the destination. So, what does that mean exactly?
The Significance of The Journey
The meaning of the “The journey is the destination” is that you shouldn’t assign the value to your goal. Instead, you must value the journey that you must go through when you strive for your goal.
To be fair, Western philosophers didn’t miss out on this mindset either. Friedrich Nietzsche argued that if you get what you wish for, you won’t be happy. He adds that if you don’t get it, you will not be happy either. He goes on to say that you will only be happy in your journey towards your desires.
Great things will start to happen, once you adopt a mindset that values the path rather than the destination. When going through the process becomes your goal, patience comes naturally. Because every step of the way is what you have been wanting to meet.
Another great thing about this mindset is that you complete each task along the way perfectly. Those who are over-focused on the final goal rather than each task, tend to cut corners. Mediocre execution of the steps often sabotages the quality of the final work, if not ruining it entirely.
The most important effect of Taoists’ approach is dealing with obstacles becomes easy. Because you see them as necessary parts of the journey rather than impediments. In fact, many refer to this aspect of Taoism as the “Obstacle is the path”.
Eastern philosophies teach us something priceless. When the goal is far and obstacles are abound, you can manifest patience by simply focusing on the journey rather than the destination. This is not an esoteric philosophy, but a practical approach.