Wisdom and Patience: The Power of Waiting
Waiting. We've all done it. It's a part of life, no matter who we are or what we want to accomplish. Yet many of us struggle with waiting because we're too anxious to see the outcome and afraid that the opportunity will pass us by if we don't act now.
But the truth is, waiting can be powerful -- patience may be our most underrated virtue. The benefits are immense: You'll produce higher quality work, learn from mistakes instead of repeating them, and have an easier time negotiating difficult situations when you always play your cards right instead of always going for what you really want first.
So there's no reason not to wait on life. Minimize distractions and build patience. Allow yourself to focus on the task at hand instead of trying to fathom the future. Learn the "why"s and "how"s of your particular situation instead of jumping into the unknown. Naturally, you'll start taking more control over your life in every new moment that unfolds...and you'll find that you're capable of taking on virtually anything.
Now, it's a slight exaggeration to say that all we do is wait. We wait for coffee to brew and food to heat up in the microwave. We wait for elevators and red lights and delays. But the truth is, waiting is what gives us the time we need to properly prepare for our future -- if we're not always moving at top speed, we can "stew," so to speak, about our next big decision and let life settle into a new normal before taking any drastic action at all. In other words, waiting gives us time...the most valuable resource of all.
Waiting is a step you must take in life -- the first step will set the pace for you and your future success. Yes, you can do it. After all, I'm doing it right now...and I've found that you won't find a more generous, kind or loving person anywhere than when you wait. So for our next episode of "The Art of Woo," we're going to take a look at what holding back means and how it doesn't have to be painful. Here's my conversation with Yvonne Buchanan:
"Holding back is one of the most important things anyone on this planet can do. Whether it's being still with a loved one, working on a deadline or waiting for the right time to act, we have to be able to hold back at times. If we don't, we live in chaos and mediocre results. It's all about making sure you're where you want to be before you go forward. I'm Yvonne Buchanan and this is the Art of Woo...with your host, Rob J Hyndman"
"The Problem With The Urgency Of Speed And Technology" – Yvonne Buchanan
"I am not sure how much society has changed since Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone back in 1876; he was 35 years old at that time. The telephone was a revolutionary invention when it came out. The first telephone was crude and didn't work well at all. It was a very difficult device to use, and people had trouble communicating with each other over it. There were no phones in the schools or offices or businesses until Louis Pasteur figured out how to bend electricity to flow through a wire, thus creating what we know as the telephone now.
"Fast-forward 100 years later to 1986 and we had computers in our homes, not just workstations. Then we got Game Boys, calculators, calculators that could fax your documents over the Internet. In 1996 we got smart phones that could check our email and save our passwords for us. Then we had touch-screen phones so that you could dial in any combination at any time -- even when you're driving. We had our own personal assistants with tablets that can help us locate anything we need to within seconds -- all because Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone.
"And now, in 2015, we have smartphones and tablets and computers that can act as personal assistants as well. Heck, the technology for talking to aliens on another planet is right here on earth! We get instant information from Google Maps, which takes over our lives by making it easier than ever to do things like find the nearest park or café or restaurant or retail store.
"The telephone is an amazing invention that has changed the world, so when you think about it, why is it that we have so much trouble waiting? Why does it take ten or fifteen minutes to get a simple message from your travel agent just to know when your flight will arrive? Why can't we bump the airlines down to five or ten minutes without them going crazy? We've come a long way since the first telephone call and yet time still seems to be such an important part of our lives.
"I do believe it's because we're trying to move fast. The focus of our phone companies -- and the focus of everyone who works in tech -- is on speed and the next gadget. We're selling ourselves out, but we're not necessarily getting faster results. In fact, I think the opposite is true. The longer things take us to get done, the more likely we are to be delayed and stuck in traffic.
"Technology is bringing us closer together but it's also pushing us apart. It's causing our family members to live in different time zones, it's causing companies to outsource their work overseas and it's causing people who wait too long for a flight or for their children to attend a school bus stop will probably lose that spot due to someone else being on time or being faster than them.
"People can't take a moment to enjoy the life they live because they're too busy waiting for the next big thing. In fact, they seem to have a problem with just enjoying their lives as a whole.
"If we could all stop for a moment and think about the implications of our actions, we'd be much better off. If we were more focused on getting things done by being peaceful and listening to our hearts instead of worrying about what's next, then we'd have more time to act on our thoughts rather than being backed up and held up by the inhuman speed of technology."
"The Difference Between Speed And Efficient" – Rob J Hyndman
"This is one of my biggest pet peeves.
Conclusion :
So which one are you? The random, non-purposeful person who's always in a hurry, or the peaceful, purposeful person who truly understands the importance of waiting? It all comes down to how you're living your life -- moving from wish to whim without purpose or passion or proactivity. Or understanding your future and waiting for the right time to act.
"The Art of Woo is dedicated to waking up those who seek answers and information on how to live in peace and harmony despite any circumstance.