It’s tough when you’re working towards a goal and it seems as if it’s taking forever to get there, you can slip into the “if…then” philosophy. If “x” happens, then I’ll be happy.
Everything people say about the steps to the goal and the importance of the process sound like empty words. The bottom line is, you’re doing something you don’t want to be doing.
The attribution of an activity as “goal” or “process” is all relative. A teacher of the third grade sees her job as a stepping stone to teaching twelfth grade. A social worker in a welfare office sees he job as a stepping stone to private practice. But a College student sees what the third grade teacher and the welfare office worker is doing as a goal.
To feel good about the process you have to turn the process into a goal. Even if it’s not your ultimate goal, you can see the value in it as something separate from the goal you’re after.
In the examples of a teacher or social worker, even though the person hopes to get a different job, what they’re doing now is still called a job.
But even if the “step” doesn’t seem whole, doesn’t seem worthy of being called a goal at all, you can still relate to it that way.
What makes it possible to turn the step into a goal? The step has something in common with the goal. Playing scales on the piano can be “only” a step towards playing a piece of music, or the scales can themselves be a beautiful piece of music.
Therefore if the goal is desirable and enjoyable to you, then you find some element of the process/steps that it has in common with the goal and enjoy the steps right now for that satisfaction that it gives you.
Then there’s no more if…then. You’re already doing what you like, right now!