Does the process of doing something matter more than the outcome?
With the advent of goal-oriented society, people put more stress on the outcome than on the action, whether it is righteous or wrongful. Over the course of one’s life, one may experience both success and failure. The experiences gained through failures can be beneficial to one’s achievements in the future. However, people fail to acknowledge the significance of process of trying. Despite the popular perspective and culture, I strongly believe that process of doing something is far more pivotal than the outcome. The story of Thomas Edison and the Columbia Shuttle program support my thesis.
Life of the greatest inventor Thomas Edison shows us that process of trying , whether it results in failure, is pivotal in one’s progress. Thomas Edison was a disabled person, having to lose most of his hearing abilities due to an accident in a train. Despite the impediment, Edison worked for a telegraph company and he was able to show that limitations can be easily surmounted. However, with the advancement of communication technology, Morse Code, which Edison found easy to cope with because hearing abilities were not so demanding in the technology, was no longer used in the telegraph industry. This change rendered Edison unemployed and as his family became destitute he needed a different job to support his family. Subsequently, he was hired to work in an electronic company and this allowed him to invent one of the most innovative items the ‘light bulb’. Although Edison failed to achieve success in the telegraph industry, he was soon able to overcome the hardship and change the world’s history with his new invention because previous failures allowed him to acknowledge his own weaknesses.
The Columbia Shuttle space program indicates that process of putting effort is far more valuable than the outcome. With development of space shuttles in the late 20th century, travelling to space with shuttles instead of rockets, proved far more efficient, in terms of expenses and energy. However, a catastrophic event transpired in 2004. A space shuttle called’ Columbia’ exploded in the sky while reaching the International Space Station. The event shocked the American citizens who lamented over the death of four astronauts who were in the shuttle. NASA soon recognized the malfunctions that caused the event and adopted novel systems to prevent further failures. Although, the Columbia Space Shuttle was an event that resulted in an unwanted outcome, this taught NASA an important lesson.
The process of working hard to achieve a certain goal, can sometimes prove to be futile. However, one’s endeavor can be beneficial in the future.