<p>Prompt:</p>
<p>People in our goal-oriented society place far too much emphasis on the outcomes of what they do. As a result, they miss out on the most important part of attempting anything: the process itself. The process of trying to achieve something is always more meaningful and enjoyable than reaching the final goal. Whether we succeed or fail, it is the process- how we go about achieving the goal- that matters most.</p>
<p>Assignment: Does the process of doing something matter more than the outcome?</p>
<p>Response:</p>
<p>As a consequence of today's fast-running world, there are so many things to do; yet much more ways to do them. People sometimes get stuck up in the process, which makes them disregard the consequences. This attitude seems fatally impractical.</p>
<p>An example for the mindset "consequences matter more than the way the action has been done" can be seen in one of America's favorite pastimes- the NBA. Some teams might barely make it into the playoffs- yet they can still make a deep run, irregardless of the way they played in the season. A situation that perfectly fits this case is the Memphis Grizzlies' last year playoff run. Unlike what famous commentators like Skip Bayless predicted, they managed to eliminate the Lakers - even though originally the way they made it into the playoffs was more complicated than the Lakers'. Thus, one can see that outcome is more crucial than the process.</p>
<p>Another perfect example is Eric Thomas - known as "The Hip-hop Preacher". Eric Thomas was a high-school dropout - he was even homeless at some point in his life. His friends attended Ivy League colleges when he was homeless. Yet he didn't give up- he said to himself "Will the real Eric Thomas please stand up?" and started succeeding in life. As he says; it took him 12 years to get a degree that most people get in 4 years - but the diploma doesn't have dates on it. He is now more successful than all of his old colleagues. One can only admire his determination, and can't help seeing that the outcome was more important than the process itself.</p>
<p>Another example comes from Ren</p>