Outcome independence.
It’s a concept that keeps showing up in my life recently.
Especially in my experience with chronic pain.
I’ve been exploring Rebecca Tolin’s work on mind-body healing, and one of the practices that got my attention is somatotracking.
Picking an uncomfortable or painful sensation in your body and sitting with it exactly as it is.
No resisting. No “trying to heal.”
That’s it, Simple but not easy, because your mind will try to distract you.
It’s not passive.
It’s presence.
It’s outcome independence.
You’re doing the work.
Not to reach a goal. Not to “make it go away.”
But to show up for yourself exactly as you are.
It reminded me of how we often approach our startups.
As American record producer Rick Rubin says, we focus too much on results.
“Your work is to make the best thing you can.
Any thought you have about the outcome undermines the whole thing.”
There’s a different kind of strength in doing the work fully, letting the outcome unfold without controlling it. This doesn't mean that you don’t care about the outcome.
It means that you have control of what you can control, your attention.
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