Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Keep Calm During The Dreaded Waiting Period


I hate waiting. Waiting in line, waiting for technology to work, waiting for slow cars to get out of my way when driving, waiting for that annoying lady on my voicemail to quit talking so I can fast forward through the old messages to my new messages, waiting for weight loss to happen, waiting for companies to call back about job applications......

There's A LOT of waiting in life. If you don't think you spend lots of your free time waiting for stuff, then I say you need to take a good look around. Chances are that you may be waiting for something at this moment as you read this. So much of our lives are spent waiting for things to happen or work, whether they are on a large scale (like getting a new job), or small scale (waiting for a traffic light to turn green).

And I hate it. Seriously, it makes me crazy sometimes. I guess that makes me a fairly impatient person, I dunno. I've always thought of myself as a fairly patient person, but I think I'me becoming more impatient as I get older. Like life "owes" me something or something ridiculous like that. Like I'm special, so I shouldn't have to wait like all you 'regular' folks. He he, just kidding.

But seriously, isn't what we say about other people sometimes, especially drivers who cut us off or do something stupid that puts both our lives at risk while driving? We sarcastically think something along the lines of, "Well, I guess where that person is going is more important than where I'm going." I know I think that all the time about other drivers. Everyone is an idiot driver except for me!

And what's great is that other people probably think that about me. But we can't all be the best drivers in the whole world, now can we? Somebody has to be wrong here, and if I'm honest, it's probably me. Boo.

But back to waiting. It's scary. It's difficult. It's nerve-wracking. And it's NO FUN AT ALL. But guess what? We have to do it. And these negative emotions do nothing to speed it up. As a matter of fact, negative emotions simply prolong the pain & insecurity of waiting. It's been easy for my hubby & I to get caught up in feeling panicked, depressed, or anxious in the midst of this job search, but being calm and having patience eases the burden a bit. So we've been trying to remember this and keep calm, like that saying I've been seeing everywhere. It varies somewhat, but the overall attitude is the same: "Keep calm and carry on," for those of us who eat their feelings: "Keep calm & have a cupcake," and for the Harry Potter fans out there (you can't deny it any longer): "Keep calm and carry a wand".

Have you seen this saying? It's clever & cute, but has a great message. And I will try to follow its advice. Will you join me in "keeping calm & carry on" during the difficult waiting periods in your life?


Image credit: http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Keep-Calm-and-Carry-On-Posters_i4149819_.htm

2 comments:

  1. Hi Kathy! Yeah, I love them, too. Some are really clever! I even saw one in a photo in People Magazine where Emma Watson was on the red carpet and a fan in the crowd was holding a sign that said "Keep calm & carry a wand". Love it!

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