Lessons from Stephen Cope

Value the effort you bring to your work, not only the result it produces.

You put real effort into something. The final product does not work, and you have to start again.

Was the effort wasted?

Stephen Cope’s The Great Work of Your Life helped me reconsider that question. The work is not valuable only when it produces a result other people recognize. The effort, attention, and willingness you bring to the process matter too.

Make the process part of the purpose

A goal can help direct your work. But if its outcome is the only thing you value, every unfinished attempt can seem meaningless.

Consider what happens through the attempt itself.

You practice. You meet a challenge. You learn about your own thinking. You bring something from within you into the world.

You can evaluate the product and still recognize the value of having shown up. Effort is different from merely worrying about how the work will be received.

Your work can begin where you are

Cope discusses dharma: the work or calling that is yours to express.

You do not have to interpret that as one perfect job title. You can practice your contribution in the circumstances of your current life.

If you want to help people understand something, where could you do that now? If you want to create, what could you begin with the resources available?

Waiting for the right audience or a dramatic change can postpone the work you could already be practicing.

Expect doubt and difficulty

A meaningful direction can bring uncertainty.

You may question whether you are suited to the work. You may try something and discover it does not fit. You may need more practice than you expected.

Those experiences can help you learn about yourself. They do not automatically prove that nothing worthwhile is happening.

Ask what the difficulty is inviting you to understand. Can you approach it directly instead of spending all your attention insisting it should not be there?

Train your attention

Pay attention to what you think, feel, and do.

Thoughts create feelings, which drive actions and results. If you are absorbed in “What will they think of me?” you may adjust the work primarily to avoid disapproval.

What changes if you focus instead on the person you want to serve or the thing you want to express?

This does not eliminate the need to evaluate your work. It changes the focus during creation from obtaining a verdict about yourself to making an offering.

Let a conflict be present long enough to understand it

Sometimes two desires seem to compete. You want to follow through, and you also want immediate relief from the discomfort of following through.

Your first impulse may be to resolve the tension quickly.

Try pausing. Notice both sides. What does each represent? What are you thinking and feeling?

You do not have to immediately act on an urge or make a final decision just to stop feeling conflicted. Allowing some space may help you see a response beyond the first two options.

Treat motivation as something to cultivate

Instead of waiting for an impulse of inspiration, identify what you want and what you can believe about moving toward it.

A meaningful desire combined with a believable expectation of progress can support action.

Choose a thought that helps you begin. Then bring sustained attention to the work, even when the initial excitement changes.

Review your genuine effort

At the end of a work session, ask what you brought to it.

Were you present? Did you take a deliberate action? Did you learn something? Did you return after getting distracted?

Measure those things as well as the outcome. Do not confuse struggle and resistance with the effort of actually doing the work.

Choose one project and practice showing up for its process today. You can care about the result while also valuing the life you bring to creating it.