Hey there, friends. This week, I’ve been thinking of the weight of…wait. Quick question: anyone else feel like we’re in this, kinda, perpetual state of flux? I mean, like, regardless of our missions personally, professionally, even recreationally, it seems like there’s always a reason to put off what we know would help us live a life enhanced: namely, said reason is that the world’s on fire and it has been, and who knows if we even have enough water to put it out so, like, best hunker down. Plus, winter isn’t even coming – it’s HERE.
Excuses are easy, right? And that’s what we like about them…they’re easy, amirite? (That’s what I like about ’em, for sure.) Plus, it’s kind of a game. How quickly can I come up with something plausible? Is defensiveness and total subject change appropriate here? Laughing and running away in a zig-zag pattern? Pretending to read an important-looking book real quick? I’ve done all of these things and more, including ACTUALLY reading. AND I’ve done all of these things knowing that, eventually, what I’m hiding from will find me anyway.
As a coach, I hear so many of these reasons at every stage of a client’s journey. They may reach out, but already have one foot out the door as they’re hitting “send” on the message. They may express enthusiasm, or confess their unhappiness with their health, but when asked to commit, have a million reasons why it’s not the right time. They’re cursed with the weight of wait. And that brings us back around to the world being on fire: money is tight – for the vast majority of us, for sure. And at this stage in the game, we’re all conditioned to hear that as a key reason why something can’t happen. We can’t really blame anyone who says they can’t participate in something due to financial strain. In my daily life, between looking for non-profit event donors and asking people if they’re ready to start their fitness program, “no” is basically inevitable. And “maybe later/next month/next year” is its second cousin. Possibly its first cousin. I never understood how those cousin brackets all work, anyway.
But let’s talk about waiting. Tom Petty wasn’t kidding when he said it was the hardest part. It’s its own kind of torture, whether you’re waiting to hear back about a job, waiting because someone you have a crush on “needs more time,” or waiting in the longest line ever at a theme park in August.
And sure, we can make a game of waiting. We can do things to fill in the time, to act as distractions. But if we’re being honest with ourselves, we’re low- to medium-key aware of the waiting the entire time it’s happening.
While it’s impossible to avoid waiting all the time, it IS possible to be proactive. Waiting in lines is the part that is hardest to avoid – even if we change over to grocery pickup, we’re waiting. Many of us don’t live in a grocery delivery area, but I imagine that’s still more waiting, because you have to be home, right? Nobody wants to come home to melted ice cream sadness on the front steps.
Proactive: telling that person who asked you to wait for them because they “need time,” either in word or in deed, that you’re gonna go ahead and live your life.
Proactive: deciding that, while money really IS tight, you’re going to start working out or taking control of the way you nourish your body. As luck would have it, you don’t need an expensive gym membership (which sometimes involves its own torturous waiting – for people to get off the equipment you wanna use) to move your body and do good things for yourself. There are streaming programs for fitness AND nutrition, Facebook groups devoted to working out and accountability,
Proactive: getting that resume brushed up and sending it out instead of making yourself continue to go to a job you hate at a place that doesn’t align with your passions. I know, it’s not that easy to find your dream job, and I’m not dismissing that as a simple fix. But simply turning on notifications for a job search can lift your spirits and give you the feeling that change IS possible. And it’s such a good feeling to have a resume that’s up to date, you know? I’m a firm believer in never doing your own resume, so if you need pointed in the right direction, message me and I’ll get you started!
We have enough on our minds without having to bog ourselves down with the weight of wait. Believe in yourself. Don’t spend your life waiting for something that may or may not come. Be the agent of change. Be YOUR agent. Book your own life!
You’ll feel so much better, I promise.
And please remember, you’re not alone. If you want to do something, but don’t know the first step to take, message me. I really mean that.
I believe in you!
And if you need pumped up – just because I’m feelin’ Petty rn – try this one (instead of Waiting is the Hardest Part) as your anthem to uncertainty: