‘Trust the Process’ is an Overrated Cliché – Here’s Why
Coaches constantly tell their athletes to trust the process. Coaches will even tell an athlete’s parents to trust the process. Furthermore, when coaches start to doubt themselves, they will reluctantly look in the mirror and chant “trust the process” with all the dignity they can muster in the moment.
The problem, however, is that blindly trusting the process is bad advice. It may not always be bad advice, but history shows at least some of the time it’s bad advice. It’s just a fact that every process doesn’t work for everyone every time.
So how do you know when you hear those words if you should listen or not? The answer to this question is the primary reason why the cliché “trust the process” is overrated. The only way to know if you should trust the process or not is if you evaluate the process. As a result, the means to evaluate a process is far more important than the process itself.
Simply stated, blind faith in a process is absurd. Instead, you must base your faith in a process using both qualitative and quantitative data. You must be able to answer simple questions like:
- How do I know the process is working?
- Is the process working fast or slow, and is that the intent?
- Am on schedule with the process based on the time of year and the deadlines I need to meet to reach my goals?
- Is there something I can do to make the process work better for me?
The next time someone tells you to trust the process, ask them to see the data that supports why you should trust the process. You don’t have to be a smart ass about it either. It’s a reasonable question to ask when you ask it with a sincere desire to understand.