Don’t Rush It: The Importance of Waiting

The older I get (I’m 53) the more I realize that life often moves at a slower pace than I’d like. This runs contrary to the buzz today that life is moving faster than the speed of light, that we’re all running around so quickly that we don’t have the time to think. Yes, we have picked up the pace due to technology, but there still exists a time frame that sometimes runs as slowly as proverbial molasses.

Furthermore, I have learned that rushing things can often be often be a form of suicide. If we try to speed up the natural pace of existence, it can be to our detriment.

Lately, I’ve noticed the importance of waiting patiently in three areas. Let’s look at them below.

Waiting out people to respond to you.

I learned the importance of this kind of waiting when I was dating my future husband. Stephen was a shy, cautious young man. I fell in love with him at first sight, and I really wanted to call him and move the relationship forward. Stephen wasn’t calling me, and I so wanted to communicate with him. But I knew if I was too pushy, he might be turned off.

In a kind of “love promise,” I purchased a tea set for him, which included a tea cup, honey sticks and a box of peppermint tea. I adored tea, and I wanted to share this delicious drink with him. While I was ordering the set through the mail, I prayed a silent prayer. “Dear Lord, I am purchasing this tea set with the hopes that one day soon Stephen and I can sit down and share a wonderful cup of tea and get to know each other.”

In short, I waited him out. And about two weeks after our first date, he called.

And we did drink our tea.

The rest is history. We’ve been married 17 years.

I’m so glad I waited for him to call me.

Waiting out things in the workplace.

As a writer, I have to wait for editors to make their moves. I can’t be emailing them every five minutes to find out if they love my work. Sometimes, I have to wait months for editors to make decisions. And this is the age of the internet! I remember the olden days of snail mail. Things really took a long time then.

I have to say that over the 35 years that I’ve been a professional writer, I’ve gotten used to waiting.

I think of the old adage “Good things come to those who wait.” In fact, I used to wear a tee-shirt that said this.

Waiting out bad situations.

This is a huge one. Often, a bad situation doesn’t disappear instantly. This is unfortunate, but true.

For instance, my son was having some behavioral problems at school. It seemed that he was getting into trouble every day. The problems appeared to be stemming from his attempts to get used to sixth grade. My son doesn’t do well with new experiences; they throw him off. Consequently, he sometimes acts out negatively.

But as the weeks passed, he got used to the new procedures, students and teachers, and the behavioral problems faded away.

Boy, was I chewing my fingernails during this awful time. Every night, it was a bad report.

And yet things improved, granted at a slow pace, but they improved.

Thank you, Lord.

In conclusion, sometimes it’s best to exercise extreme patience, to go with life’s often slow flow.

Resolution takes time.

Best we learn this as soon as possible.

from World of Psychology http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2016/11/09/dont-rush-it-the-importance-of-waiting/