Reflection: Process > Product
Creativity itself doesn't care at all about results - the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it.— Elizabeth Gilbert
A super rare thing happened this past weekend: we had warm(ish) weather with sun for several days. It was like a taste of Spring in February — something that rarely happens in a month that is typically filled with overcast freezing weather.
When this happens, it feels like a bit of magic is injected into the air and a wave of inspiration fills my being. For example, this weekend, I felt called to take out my Sony a7iv and snap photos all day long without any agenda.
As a content creator, I take photos often; it’s part of the gig. However, the energy I carry behind the lens changes.
Sometimes my photos are born through a particular agenda or mission —for example, to fulfill a contract with a brand and curate images of product. Other times, I snap less aesthetically-pleasing, yet meaningful moments, like when Kennedy makes a cute mess eating from her high chair. I enjoy both these types of captures—don’t get me wrong—but the energy that exists behind the lens is different than the energy I had this past weekend.
This past weekend, the sun danced off our chandelier and casted rainbows on walls. The light bounced upon objects and lit streaks across our oak floors. It was simple, yet magical. I felt more receptive to the miracles that surrounded me.
So I took out my camera and began to photograph.
Now, this energy behind the lens is different. It is not agenda-based , nor is it one to mark for memory purposes. It is one that feels pure and playful, beautiful yet raw, experimental yet nonjudgmental.
Really, this energy cares more about the process of creation itself, rather than the product that comes from it.
I remember, back in 2010, I had a travel blog (titled “Sparkled Paths”), and in 2013, a vegetarian food blog (“titled “The Beet”). This was long before “likes” and were a thing, and long before there was emphasis on the final product. I had blogs and took photos simply because I enjoyed the creation process.
Truly, this is why I created MeganKarp.com — the creation process fueled me. I felt energized by the birth of a new platform, to learn, fail, and expand, to connect and share myself in new ways.
I cannot deny I love the result of what my online presence has brought me—new friends, many lessons, extra income—but ultimately, I will always remind myself that isn’t why I started.
Similar to how James Clear preaches “systems over goals,” I believe the beauty and magic is found in the process itself, not the end product.