Every product we produce is the end result of a long process and a lot of work by a lot of people.
We spend almost all of our time working on this development process (sometimes a few years) to meet our end goal; yet ironically it is only the product itself we seem to remember over time.
This begs the question: if the majority of our working lives are consumed with the process, why is it that only the product itself (as opposed to the time we spent) sticks in our memories? I believe this is a result of two things: our mental filing system tending to group major milestones into categories, and our tendency to rush through the process so we can hit our goal and move onto the next conquest.
The problem is that because we tend to learn our greatest lessons from the failures and successes of the process itself, it's hard to retain that which we don't remember.
As time goes on I find myself appreciating the day-to-day process of these tasks as much or more than the end results. Sure the process is challenging, the pressures to finish great, but along the way I want to make sure we appreciate the path we're on for all it's worth; after all, it's occupying nearly all my time.
Paying more attention to the process (some refer to this as the journey) and less to the end goal can be beneficial to both our personal growth and, surprisingly enough, the outcome of the project itself.
A true win/win if ever there was one.
