Hurry Up and Wait
This weekend Tom and I were in Baltimore for a family gathering. This meant lots of time spent visiting, eating, laughing and dancing, with not much downtime in between for pulling together my newsletter story. (Hence the delay in getting it out till Wednesday…)
Maynard is good at waiting... Photo credit: David Lynn Photography
Anyway, what’s interesting about this trip is that while we were go-go-going all weekend long, we also did a lot of waiting for stuff.
- Our airport shuttle to Denver International Airport on Thursday was late
- Then our flight departed late.
- We encountered traffic and long stoplights all over Baltimore every time we got in the car.
- Our “quick” breakfast excursion to Dunkin Donuts on the morning of the event turned into a 15-minute affair while they prepped our egg morning wraps.
- I even spent an extra five minutes on hold waiting for the doctor’s office to answer my call this morning.
Each time I ran across these moments, I got annoyed and thought to myself, “MAN! This weekend is all about ‘hurry up and wait’!”
It was crazy that it just kept happening though, and since I know that the universe presents coincidences and serendipities at exactly the right time, and generally for a specific reason, I started paying attention.
I paid attention to the situation itself:
“OK, so we’re in a rush to get to the family event and now we’ve run into a bunch of Baltimore traffic that we didn’t expect. Ugh, there’s ANOTHER super-long stoplight ahead.”
Then I paid attention to my feelings and judgements about it:
“That Google-Maps app lady always gets the trip timing wrong. We REALLY don’t like to show up late to stuff; it’s disrespectful and rude. Why won’t this light hurry up and turn green?? Is there a specific reason why these lights in Baltimore take twice as long as in Denver? I’m going to lose my marbles if it doesn’t change soon…”
And then I decided to look at what the OPPORTUNITY was for me in experiencing all these “hurry up and wait” situations:
“So this waiting thing keeps coming up. All weekend long. That’s no coincidence, so what am I going to learn here?”
What I figured out was that #1, waiting tends to make me uncomfortable. And #2, it is SO good for me to do it anyway, and here’s why.
I don’t know if this is the case for you, but in my life I have a tendency towards getting really excited about an end result. I see my BIG Vision for something, whether it was my wedding to Tom, a vacation to California, the big family event, or the ultimate manifestation of success in my business, and then the anticipation starts to build. That anticipation grows so strong that it makes it really difficult to enjoy the process along the way.
Being goal-oriented is AMAZING, but being too forward focused means we’re missing out on the only moments in life we truly have, which happen in the NOW.
I was so excited about spending time with my family this weekend, and have been so excited about manifesting things like more success in my business, a move to a warm climate, and a free and flexible schedule, that I’m missing my opportunities to enjoy what’s happening around me along the way there.
I’m learning and growing, I’m meeting people and making amazing new connections, I’m seeing changes happening in my life and my clients lives, and even sitting in Baltimore traffic I experienced a couple of pretty rad sunsets in the company of my awesome husband.
Without those opportunities to “hurry up and wait”, I’d never realize all that was going on in my immediate world right now.
There’s so much to appreciate and I don’t want to miss a moment.
So I’m thankful for the weekend of “hurry up and wait”. And now I’m sitting in BWI airport, patiently waiting to board our Southwest flight back to Denver. I’m happily taking advantage of the 60 minutes I’ve got to do nothing but sit back, write this story, and hurry up and wait.
What about you? How do you feel about those “hurry up and wait” moments?
Try my Paying Attention Game below to see what the opportunity might be for you in waiting a few extra moments once in a while.
Paying Attention Game
1. Pay attention to the situation itself. Take note of what’s happening around you and how it might be triggering you.
2. Pay attention to your feelings about it. Now that you’ve brought awareness to where you are and what you’re doing, take a look at how you’re reacting to it. Are you frustrated? Annoyed? Feeling anxious? Your feelings are your gateway to an immediate attitude adjustment anytime you want one.
3. Decide what the opportunity is. With an understanding of what the situation is and how you’re feeling about it, now you can look at what the opportunity for learning might be for you in it. For me, it was noticing that waiting kept coming up over and over again, and that I didn’t seem to like it, so getting over that discomfort about waiting must be my opportunity. What could it be for you?
Alright, friends, it’s challenge time!
I hear from so many of you that you’re finding value in what you’re reading here on amybirks.com, so my challenge to you this week is to do any one of the following things before you receive your next Inspiration Monday newsletter:
- Forward this story to TWO friends who you know need or want a little extra inspiration or motivation in their life
- Share this (or another favorite) post on Facebook, Twitter or any of the other social media platforms you love to bring the inspiration to the masses
- Encourage ONE friend to sign up for my weekly newsletter. If they do it from my homepage, they’ll get access to my free Motivation Roadmap for the Rebel Professional download and audio to boot! Who couldn’t use a little extra motivation this time of year, right?
With love and inspiration (and my feet firmly planted in the NOW),
-Amy