Trust the Process! Trust the Process!!

But does the process know that you are trusting it?

I used to be a bad maths student. Actually, I still am. This is why jejely went to Arts class before they even asked. I found out that the fewer the calculations, the happier I am. I chased happiness, like a child chasing butterflies. l would miss my maths classes without remorse (In my house, missing classes happen to be a grievous crime). I often forgot that maths is not like the language subjects I love so much. I could skip the entire process and choose the answer that sounded just right to my ear. Most often, I got them right. But never maths. Never maths. The answers lay in intricate formulas containing convoluted steps that had to be followed sequentially. For every day I missed a class, I missed a formula. I missed an answer. Naturally, my day of reckoning came on the exam day.

Later, I would think of myself when I think of Santiago, the main character in Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. I would think of his journey to the pyramids of Egypt in search of the treasure that haunted his dreams. He crossed the proverbial seven seas and seven mountains, even got robbed on the way, only to find it in his backyard. Yet, he did not despise his journey. He found that his wealth was not in his new wealth but in the wisdom and experiences he gained from his journey.

Years later, I found that it taught me the greatest lesson: trust the process. Show up for the classes. Learn the formula. Follow the steps. Put in the work. Chase your dreams. Do your part. And as cliché as it may sound, the universe will align in your favour.

I know what you're about to say: ‘does the process know that you're trusting it?’ I want to tell you yes. For real. I badly want to. But my butterflies has continued to elude me. Imagine the depths of my sorrow when—after my meticulous selection of elective courses—I still got stuck with a calculation course in 300 level. Worse still, it was compulsory. I was crushed.

So I cannot assure you that the process knows that you're trusting it. Instead, I will assure you that it need not. It suffices that you just do. Determined to get my answers right this time, I showed up for my classes. Learnt the formula. Followed the process. I didn't come out as the best student (surely, you did not expect such a fairytale from me. I hope not). But I know better. I know how to jump higher… run better. I know I will catch my butterflies sooner than later.

Now I do not jump so hard at the startling realization that I may still come across some calculations in law school. Or that while I can get brief or long moments of relief, I may never completely evade it. It would come up randomly in a quantitative reasoning test for a wanted job interview, graduate program or on-the-spot meetings. I know that if I follow the steps and trust the process, I will be fine. I will have my wealth. So will you. Trust the process!