How to shift mindset from goal-oriented to progress-oriented?

I'll say something that sounds really unhelpful until one day it makes sense. You don't really choose the process, the process chooses you. You can't make yourself 'enjoy the process' for something that doesn't resonate, because it will always feel a chore. So the one and only trick is to really pay attention to the thing you keep going back to, and in a way accept that this is a path.

Some people might say "But I only enjoy video games!" and if that's the case, I don't really know what to say to that. All the people I know who have found great alignment with a path of progress are ones where the effort tickles an itch they would have regardless, so might as well scratch that itch.

And there are still goals, that doesn't change.

This is a bit of a Zen thing you're describing. A lot of different approaches and theories on getting to the same thing here I would say. It's hard to think of specific advice here beyond "just start doing it" which does not seem very helpful. Maybe a good insight here is "practice will make it easier."

I think ultimately for me this mindset was cultivated at a pretty young age with some writing and art I happened to come across. I love content like that and seek it out now. I think you can become more and more growth mindset oriented with time. I'll share some of the things I've liked on the topic here, maybe that will be useful:

http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/hacker-howto.html

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7727986-mountains-should-be... (this is a quote, but recommend this whole book)

https://www.amazon.com/Mindset-Psychology-Carol-S-Dweck/dp/0...

https://youtu.be/etEJrznE-c0?si=Eaq8aycm8Yxn1v56

One trick is be aware of how much you enjoy different processes.

I find for example I prefer everything to be a small task. I like to separate planning from coding and don't try to do both simultaneously. That works for me. You may be the same or different.

That is one example. The idea is to understand what you like and hate about the work. Not what you think you should like but what you actually like.

Sounds to me like you are looking for an artificial solution to a made up problem.

There will never be a magic pill or magic “mind shift” that will just make you enjoy whatever path you take.

Are you choosing unnecessarily miserable steps, or adding unnecessary misery into the goals themselves?

I'm ashamed to admit this but I have a few blank PCBs I ordered and never did anything with, because... it was just a personal project, and populating SMD parts by hand seems like so much fun until you actually... start doing it.

Working on a Svelte app is often pretty fun. Building a new JS runtime, framework, and build system does not sound fun.

If you enjoy the goal, but not the process, there's a term for it - it's called a grind. It's no different from weight loss or any other unpleasant chores. You choose to temporarily suffer in order to accomplish the goal. Incidentally, after reading a bunch of biographies, I think many high-achievers are into suffering, they get a kick out of it. Someone like Goggins makes it explicit, but I think it's fairly prevalent.

I've been making this shift as well.

Start thinking about what a good work day looks like. What tasks are you doing? Who are you working with? Where are you working? When? What technologies? Etc etc.

Then start working backwards and figure out what type of work you can do in that ideal work day environment. For me, I'm having to undergo a massive career shift but I'm much happier than I ever was.

I think a good place to start would be the question "Why do I feel different now?"

> If I could enjoy the process as much as I enjoy the results, I would be able to persistently achieve more.

This is an assumption, be wary.

My advice: Explore this new feeling and where it's coming from, rather than trying to work around it.

The advice you asked for: Start somewhere. Anywhere. Anything. Momentum is your friend.

> It's just the repetition of things you already know, and this is what I have started to hate.

Reading one of your comments, I solved that by using LLM's. If you can't, maybe what you need is trying new things that don't involve those steps you already hate. Maybe ask someone to help you with the boring stuff.

How can you achieve more results (goals) persistently by enjoying the process (the thing that takes time) as much? More results in less time or more time to enjoy the process you will hopefully find enjoyable. Can’t you outsource the process and just enjoy the results?

Breaking down a large goal into smaller milestones could be a good “change of process” for you.

With smaller milestones you get the gratification of reaching goals often, projects are easier to start and you can retain the goal-driven mindset!

Use lead indicators instead of lag indicators. Focus on measuring your day to day focus instead of some long term goal.

Make more incremental goals, to the point they may sound trivial. With small enough goals they become synonymous with the process.

I don't think you can. We don't really own our minds.

At least in the professional world, I believe the key is knowing that "work" is an artificial construct designed to make owners and shareholders richer at the expense of you, the working drone. So "making progress" becomes a lot more palatable than quickly delivering what the capitalists want.