This is a mantra that my friend and I recite and rely on. It’s a simple way of saying:
Operate by values, not outcomes (which aren’t in your control anyway).
Do things with a mindset of just trying, because you choose to based on your values, rather than insisting on certain results.
What’s more important than succeeding or failing at something is how you relate to the process of trying.
So, the outcome is not the thing to focus on. The practice is the thing.
This is the mantra I’m reaching for today, both on a personal level (feeling like a failure in various, mundane details of parenting, marriage, self-care, and general life management) and a public level (given the bill that was passed yesterday).
No matter how much failure my eyes perceive, the thing is to keep walking along the path where my values lead me.
🚶🏽♀️
For more about the practice mindset, see my essay “Life Is Better as a Practice”
This is definitely helpful. If I don't intentionally focus on practice or the doing, I subconsciously fall back to a default focus on outcomes! 😬