{"id":9469,"date":"2017-08-14T05:59:54","date_gmt":"2017-08-14T10:59:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/?p=9469"},"modified":"2017-08-14T05:59:54","modified_gmt":"2017-08-14T10:59:54","slug":"what-to-do-when-you-are-forced-to-wait","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fullfocus.co\/what-to-do-when-you-are-forced-to-wait\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do When You Are Forced to Wait"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>I am good at a few things. But waiting is not one of them. Whether it's being put on hold when I call a business, sitting in the waiting room of my dentist's office, or standing in the airport security line, I am impatient.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nThinking about this, I was reminded of a time when my granddaughter, Libby, landed in the emergency room. She had been showing strange symptoms for a couple of years. Finally, after Libby got violently sick, my daughter, Mindy, took her to the emergency room.<br \/>\nThe hospital was unusually busy, so they sat for more than <em>four hours<\/em> before getting in to see a doctor. He ordered some tests, but you know how that goes: more waiting. The ordeal seemed like it would never end.<br \/>\n<br \/>\nAt various points our lives, we\u2019re all waiting for something important. Perhaps you are waiting for:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Word that you landed that job you want<\/li>\n<li>News about a possible raise or promotion<\/li>\n<li>Mr. or Ms. Right to show up<\/li>\n<li>Your pregnancy test results<\/li>\n<li>The judge\u2019s decision on your court case<\/li>\n<li>A response to an important email<\/li>\n<li>Approval for a loan<\/li>\n<li>The answer to a prayer<\/li>\n<li>The pain to stop<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While I\u2019m still not very good at waiting, I have gotten better. Here are five strategies I am currently using:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Embrace it.<\/strong> I don\u2019t believe anything happens by chance. To say it another way, everything happens for a reason. If I am waiting, there is something for me to learn. Waiting might actually be a gift.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Ask the right questions.<\/strong> I\u2019ve blogged about this <a href=\"http:\/\/michaelhyatt.com\/seven-better-questions-you-can-ask-in-the-midst-of-adversity.html\">recently<\/a>. An unhelpful question would be \u201cWhy can\u2019t they hurry up?\u201d or even \u201cWhy is this taking so long?\u201d A better question is \u201cWhat can I learn while I am waiting?\u201d or \u201cHow will this kind of waiting make me stronger?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Redeem the time.<\/strong> There are lots of things you can do while you are waiting <em>if<\/em> you are prepared. This is why I rarely go anywhere without my iPad. Worst case, I can read a book on my iPhone.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Encourage someone else.<\/strong> One of the best things you can do when you are waiting is get the attention off yourself. I have to keep reminding myself, \u201cIt\u2019s not all about me.\u201d Encouraging someone else while I am waiting doesn\u2019t solve my own problem, of course. But it makes me feel like I am at least doing <em>something\u001f<\/em>\u2014and making a positive contribution.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p><strong>Trust God.<\/strong> This is the difficult but important part. God has not forgotten about you or me. He not only knows exactly <em>what<\/em> we need; he knows <em>when<\/em> we need it. His timing is perfect. I like how Jesus showed up in the story about Lazarus. It looked like he was two days late. His friend had died. But he arrived right on time\u2014for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=John+11%3A1-44&version=NKJV\">what he wanted to do<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Back to Libby. The good news is that she's been well now for several years. In fact, she just started seventh grade!<br \/>\nWhen it comes to patience, I need more schooling as well. Suffice it to say, I have a lot more to learn. This is not easy for me. But I certainly get plenty of opportunities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am good at a few things. But waiting is not one of them. In this post, I share five strategies I am currently using to cope in those situations where I don&rsquo;t have a choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":37325,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[642,643,430,227,644,645],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What to Do When You Are Forced to Wait<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I am good at a few things. But waiting is not one of them. 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