Life in the waiting room…
We have all been there, the dreaded doctor’s office waiting room, waiting to be called. Maybe a little anxious or antsy to just get this going. Maybe the daytime TV talk show is blaring, someone is coughing in the corner and every name that gets called is not yours. But alas! Your name is called, and you go back to the room and get seen.
So often life can just feel like we are in a perpetual doctor’s office waiting room. We know something is about to happen, we may have even planned for it. But it just isn’t here yet. We wait for big things, like health results, fertility or pregnancy journeys, finding the ‘one’, career changes, goals to be achieved. We also wait for small things, like our food at a restaurant, a friend’s text message back, and daily life things. We are all waiting for something at some point. So, what do we do?
How can we live a life of meaning and purpose while waiting?
A couple of thoughts (ok, even some questions) come to mind when asking this question and I encourage you to think about your own thoughts and responses to these. After all, we all think of “meaning” and “purpose” differently and we are all waiting for something different….
1. What is the feeling that I am chasing?
Waiting can feel like stagnation, sitting still, put on pause, or even boredom. It can also be agonizing, painful, and increase our anxiety. If I could imagine a different feeling, one that would make me fulfilled, I can then create action behind chasing that feeling. So, for example, if I am anxious, or in a constant state of worry because I am waiting on something important, I would then identify how I wish to feel. Maybe it’s busy, maybe it’s excited, or fulfilled. I would then try my hardest to do things that would elicit more of those feelings and add things in my life that would create those feelings rather than sit and hope for them to come.
2. There is a certainty in waiting…
By this I mean that waiting can end. If we are waiting on a test result, it will certainly come. If we are waiting for a big meeting coming up, it will happen. There is an end to a waiting period, it is not perpetual. It may feel like that, but most waiting periods in our life do end and we do get answers. It may not be what we want but the uncertainty does end.
3. Am I prepared for what I am waiting for?
By actively working towards something, preparing or practicing, learning or creating goals, I can be an active participant in waiting rather than just sitting there and doing nothing. I think one of the hardest parts about waiting is it can feel out of our control. So when things feel out of our control, let’s re-shift the perspective towards things that are in our control.
4. Practice patience.
Easier said than done, that’s for sure. Patience is a learned skill, a virtue some would say. But the effort of practicing gratitude can also go hand in hand with learning and implementing patience. So, while waiting for whatever you are waiting for, can you list some things that you are grateful for? It can be small things, big things, but the point is to prioritize the feeling of gratitude, which can then lead to cultivating patience.
I hope that you find something in this article that encourages you during a difficult season of waiting. If so, consider sharing this with whomever you may feel is in the waiting room with you. After all, we have all been there and our names will eventually be called.
