Image: Journey Church Cynthiana

Process can be such a frustrating phenomenon. Think about it: you have to save and invest consistently over a period of time (years or even decades) to build wealth. A woman has to carry a child for three-quarters of a year before she births it. And after this, it takes years and years of raising and nurturing before the child gets a chance to be independent. In these parts, we have to go through 6 years of primary education, 6 years of secondary education and at least 4 years of tertiary schooling to become a graduate. An eventuality that in no way guarantees success or wealth. Process is painful. More often than not, It is arduous and slow, little wonder many people try to circumvent it. You think about how long it would take you to achieve a goal or attain a certain height and you are literally convinced that you’ll grow old before they come to fruition.

Process is why wishes exist.

We wish a thing and will that it magically comes into existence because we would rather not go through the laborious work and hurdle required to make it happen ourselves.

I have lost count of the times I’d stare at my blank screen and wish the words would simply appear and my piece would be ready for publication, thereby saving me the trouble of thinking or typing. Many times, I have daydreamed (just like many of you) of being gifted millions of dollars by providence. Money I would happen upon in my bank account just like that. I often wonder why I have to work so hard; work that is far from commensurate with pay.

The process of waiting for hair to grow, the process of waiting for that test result. The process of waiting for love…

Staying the course is difficult, however, the completion of a journey is what breeds gratitude and a true sense of fulfilment. We feel more accomplished when we go through some kind of process to get something.

That first class degree wouldn’t mean so much if it wasn’t the outcome of endless sleepless nights and candle-burning. The birth of a child is heralded with much pomp because everyone understands the perilous journey the mother has been through. People cry when they are getting married to the love of their life because it brings back memories of the many times when they have lost in love.

Process.

A prevalent trend today is coveting what successful people have, Writers see Chimamanda get conferred with yet another honorary degree and they silently pray that someday, they are recognised the same way even without as much as a published article in their name. D-list actors are desirous of the legendary status of Genevieve and Omotola so they elect to strip on social media or engage in some other shenanigan hoping to gain popularity as quickly as possible.

Yahoo boys are desperate to be like Dangote, only that they cannot imagine grinding to start a legitimate business, let alone nurture it to become a conglomerate. Many Nigerians are “prayer warriors”. Weaponising prayer to launch an attack on situations and perceived enemies, which is not such a bad thing except that we do not pursue personal development and hard work with the same vigour.

Everything hinges on process, guys!

It’s sheer tomfoolery to plant a seed today and show up the following day to harvest it. In the same way, an attempt to bypass the steps nature has put in place as a prerequisite for a thing never produces the right result. It is tantamount to reaping where one has not sown.

This brings to mind the mobile data fraud that occurred last weekend. A breach in the telecoms’ company data security saw many of their customers go into a frenzy as they couldn’t believe their “luck”. A whopping 128GB of credit was free! But we all know how that ended. Some of the culprits are now left with major dents in their bank balance because of greed and a bid to evade the process of accessing data the right way.

Process, people.

Process engineers growth. It is the reason we have stories. When we examine events in hindsight, we are often able to comprehend the reason we had to tread a certain path.

Wealth that is gradually amassed always lasts longer than one that is a product of get-rich-quick schemes. Elders within society tend to have experienced more life lessons than younger people because they have gone through a longer process.

We appreciate a loving partner better when we have been through a loveless relationship.

Choosing to accept process may not be the most appealing proposition, but it is necessary. And inevitable. And exists for our own good.