The Power Of Waiting
(Ding)
(Opens phone)
Black Friday Sale. Get a 50-80%
discount on your favorite brands!
(Places order)
Sweet!
Anything that you want today, arrives at your door faster than ever. It's convenient. If you're in the mood for adrenaline, you find yourself scrolling through Netflix. Food? On the way.
(Ding)
You check the phone but there's no notification. Ah, you must've imagined it.
We live in a world of instant gratification. We're so used to immediate responses that we feel restless if we're forced to wait. Losing access to the internet means spending a day in hell. What are you supposed to do? It's frustrating to be idle.
With each passing generation, it is becoming more difficult to handle delays. The feeling of satisfaction is more seductive to the younger gen- eration. Like crack, eh? They crave the gratification of salary raises and good returns on investments right after they find a job. And when they don't get the expected results, they just quit, ranting that it's pointless.
Parents drop the responsibility of entertaining their child by handing it over to the iPad. It's instant relief. The baby falls silent, No more cry- ing. Technology has intensified the
feeling that waiting is a humongous waste of time. There's no longer any need to stand in line to book movie tickets or make dinner reservations. On click and you're done. Quick and efficient.
The unmistakable message is, that faster is better(Or is it?). Last year we had groceries being delivered the next day. Come 2022 and grocer- ies are now delivered to your door- step within 15 minutes. Not far are the days when anything you want will be in your hands right after a loo break. Ironically, what was supposed to make us the masters of time has now turned us into the slaves of time. It kills us if we have to wait 1 week to get a new phone. You'd rather spend more money and buy a costlier phone that is being delivered the next day.
A little sad, don't you think?"
The round-the-clock bombardment of information is even robbing us of our time for quiet reflection.
How often do you come across people who actively participate in. taking time out for themselves and working on their mental health? Therapy doesn't count. Neither does the paid visits to meditation centers. And I say this because I don't want to reinforce the idea that your mental health can only be fixed through money. To be clear, therapy is a must when things are really bad. After all, it's a spe- cialization that helps improve the lives of thousands through guided introspection.
But I believe that had we the patience of our older generations, we would've learned to dig into our thoughts and have a deeper understanding of not only ourselves
but the whole wide world(www, see what I did here?). This is also one of the reasons I started my podcast, Within 5 Minutes, and this blog.
Circling back, with lesser distrac- tions and a balanced need for constant stimulation, we'd be able to put more energy into creating more meaningful relationships that we can truly, deeply cherish.
As Harold Schweizer puts it, "Waiting adds value to objects and experiences. It gives people time for thinking, inspiration, and regenera- tion. Without this investment of time, whatever you do will feel hollow."
Some of us really enjoy reading a book, be it about psychology, busi- ness, or just a mystery novel while the rest of us may enjoy investing in the stock market or creating our own website. We really like doing them. But we don't. The thought of it is dreadful because even though we may get ourselves to start, we never finish.
Your endorphins and serotonins are not triggered as much as you would've if you were mindlessly browsing Youtube/Instagram. Your brain is too fixated on the need for instant gratification that you feel sick at the thought of doing some- thing productive, even though you may really enjoy it.
Somewhere down the line, you entered the slippery spiral down- ward. All this instant gratification has killed your patience. It has
slowed down your growth and discovery of real, natural emotions. If you dump the excessive craving and wanting, and the regret and guilt that it comes with, you can create space for contentment and gratitude to kick in with what you have. The focus needs to be on moderation. If you get a message while you're in the middle of an activity, restrain yourself from responding immediately. Chances are it's just a silly tweet on Twitter.
Although it is difficult to wait, it may prove to be refreshing in this fast-paced world.
Think of it as driving through an extremely beautiful landscape. Your urges are telling you to rush through the highway but if you don't slow down, you won't be able to enjoy the
beauty of the journey.
Waiting is the perfect vaccine for the things that have no place in your life. The distractions get filtered out and your priorities become clear. Time has a beautiful way of sifting the wheat from the chaff as long as you let it flow.
You even learn to develop per- severance which would have been the game changer in building that website you were so keen about. An athlete puts hours on the track and
a body-builder pushes his PRs. Then they get up tomorrow and do it again. They're trained by persever- ance to keep going until they reach their goal. And that kind of tough- ening up cannot happen in a day. It takes time. You'll have to wait.
As the saying goes, "Good things come to those who wait".
Truth be told, getting everything you want instantly is not always a good thing. Ask your mom. It makes you sinfully prideful and you feel like you're entitled to have everything. Remind you of any spoilt brats? Waiting humbles you. You learn to appreciate the struggles and can empathize with others. It's an adventure to make do with the things you have and not rush out to buy something on impulse. Maybe it will give more
meaning to your Christmas girts as well!
Don't rush through life.
Trust your gut.
And Wait.
Wait.
When you right, think the time's 174
Take flight.
I started writing this article with a different idea in mind but as I penned down the first few paragraphs, I thought, "Wait a minute, this article should be about waiting" :')
Hehehe.
If you like what I write, please
shower some support to my podcast as well. Personally, I feel like these words need to be heard from time to time and I like to hear them rather than read them.
