The late, great Tom Petty wrote that “the waiting is the hardest part”. It was one of my favorite songs of his. I look at the song now as part of the human condition. We wait for the things we want like a vacation or a promotion. We wait for things we fear like layoffs or downsizing. Sometimes they come and sometimes they don’t. So much energy is expended in the waiting. The anticipation. The result. The reality is often quite different from what we anticipated.
I find myself in this situation now. Things that I had hoped would come more quickly have not happened yet. However, I do know that commitment to going forward and pursuing a dream is worth the effort despite the uncomfortable nature of waiting. We learn from the experience. We change our approach. We receive insight from others. And we try it again in a different way with that experience and insight we’ve gained. It just kind of sucks to have to go through it seemingly a thousand times or more. It is one of the hardest lessons to stomach in a sense. We can’t move forward and learn the lessons looking through other people’s stories. It is our stories that drive our lives.
We push forward with our new bits of knowledge and try a different way. It takes time. It takes effort. It takes resolve. But mostly, it takes a willingness to continue to try and get to where we want to be. We can get there but we have to keep trying. Remember, if you are a fan of Tom Petty, his lyrics were uplifting —
Hey baby, there ain’t no easy way out
Hey, I won’t back down.
We need to stand our ground in order to get to where we want to be. This is my lesson for today. If you want something you have to be willing to stand your ground and make it work! This is my message for today.
What is the hardest part for you when waiting for something?
CLOFOS 