Wednesday, November 7, 2012

8 Reasons Why Waiting is Hard


The November issue of Health reports “40% of women polled have experienced a three-hour-plus wait at their doc’s office.”
And we’re not only left twiddling our thumbs in doctor’s offices. Any of the following sound familiar? Carpool line. Grocery store. Bank. Pharmacy. DMV. Test results. Publication. And there happens to be a major holiday approaching that tends to attract diehard shoppers. Ring any bells?

Waiting is a pain in the arse. We all know this. But have you ever taken time to consider why it’s so difficult? No worries, I went there. I pinpricked the waiting process in order to test why we’re so allergic to it. And here’s what I came up with…
Comparing Carol

Carol is obsessed with measuring herself against others. She checks how quickly the line next to her is moving in Target. She plants what her neighbor plants. Determined to be found parallel with the Mrs. Jones, Carol has established herself as an expert in the art of comparison.

Word for Carol: Her race is not your race. Find your own road and go at it at your own pace.
Bored Barb

Barb’s legs bounce. Barb’s thoughts fly to pessimism. Barb texts distant relatives to keep from sitting alone with her thoughts. Barb can’t handle her own boredom.
Word for Barb: Times in wait are perfect breeding grounds for creativity to grow. Learn to appreciate stillness.

Entitlement Eva
Eva wants what she wants and she wants it now. Eva deserves it. Eva is never ever ever getting back together with you (wrong song, wrong topic, excuse the distraction).

Word for Eva: Try playing this song every so often, “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
Fearful Freda

Time to think equates to time to worry for Freda. One anxious thought begets another, then another. The worry train is headed for one mother of a wreck.
Word for Freda: If you must play worst case scenario, force yourself to envision yourself growing from the outcomes. God tips us off not to fear in the Bible 365 times, one for every day of the year. Must have been an important point He wanted to convey.

Busy Betsy
Betsy’s brain is busy. Betsy’s plans are busy. Betsy is so wetsy with distractions she’s left herself such a small window of downtime, if the wait exceeds her expected allotment of regimented minutes, Betsy becomes one soggy Betsy wetsy mess.

Word for Betsy: Slow down. Carve out time to do nothing—absolutely nothing. Let go of some commitments. Reevaluate priorities. Un-busy Betsy.
All-Knowing Alana

Alana knows what’s best for Alana. She’s had her future categorized and strategized on the back of a Johnny Depp poster since she was a pegged-jeans teenager.
Word for Alana: Life throws us curveballs. Ground yourself in God and expect detours. Do you still have the poster?

Now or Never Nelly
Nelly is afraid if it doesn’t happen now it never will. She’s lost a lot in life, seen it slip through her fingers, bawled as the window has slammed shut. Nelly has an irrational fear that if she’s unable to live deep and suck all the marrow out of life right now her straw will crack, the drink will dry, and she’ll have nothing left to ingest in the future.

Word for Nelly: While it’s noble to have a passion for the present, the best truly is yet to come. Every single second offers opportunity for growth. If you’re strong now, Nelly, you’ll be that much stronger in the future.
Control-Lovin’ Colleen

Colleen is best friends with Nelly, Alana, Betsy, Freda, Eva, Barb, and Carol. (Wouldn’t that be cool if those first letters actually spelled something? They don’t, but would have been cool.) Colleen is insecure. Somewhere inside she still buys that if she can just get a handle on her life and steer it, things would finally fall into place. She’d be peaceful, happy, and radiant each morning when her feet hit the floor, free of care. It’s up to her to minimize the wait. It’s always up to her.
Word for Colleen: Ultimately it all comes back to your need to control. Surrender. Trust in an omniscient God. Mei Banfa (thanks Amy for teaching me this Chinese expression) = Accept what we cannot change.

Why did I write we on that last word to Colleen? Because I can only write about Nelly, Alana, Betsy, Freda, Eva, Barb, Carol, and Colleen because I’ve waited in their shoes.

Among those I listed, who best represents your current allergic reaction to waiting?
*photo by stock.XCHNG

24 comments:

  1. I don't think I'm just one of those. I might have a few of them going at once. Except being bored. I am never bored. I've got too much Busy Betsy to deal with Bored Barb. :)

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    1. I know Busy Betsy well. I think it's been a long time since Bored Barb and I were acquainted.

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  2. I'm with Jessica on this. Can I say all of the above? I've probably been barb too, just not as often as the others!

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    1. I'm right there with you with all of the above! How do you think I was able to capture each character so well? ;-)

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  3. I've definitely been all of the above at one time or other, but right now I'd say I'm a split personality between Bored Barb and Busy Betsy. Yes, polar opposites. Not sure how, but it's true!

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    1. Love that dichotomy & completely get it. Somehow I bounce back and forth easily from confident to insecure. It's fun.

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  4. Did you just call me controlling? I think you did. Ha!! Yeah, I felt a little uncomfortable reading through that list. I'm sure I've been a little bit of all of them at times.

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    1. Imagine my discomfort writing it knowing I've been there and done that regarding each of those wacky characters. :0

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  5. Oh wow, so good. Pretty sure both Betsy and Colleen are familiar faces in my life. Thanks for calling me out on it in such a fun way today. :)

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    1. I think everyone is innately Colleen. Slap on the name Colin for a guy and it's all the same. We all like control and have difficulty when it's being messed with.

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  6. Great post. You are so clever, Wendy. I love how you see the world through your own unique lens and make it make sense. And yes, I saw myself in that list.

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    1. Thankful it made sense. I sure know it was all too familiar to me. Unique lens it is. :D

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  7. I'm all of them! Really! It IS hard to wait. :(

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    1. Cheers to the wait! But we are learning so much! :D :D :D

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  8. Loved reading this, and sadly related to more than half. Great post, Wendy!

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    1. Know what I'm appreciating? How honest everyone is being. Ah...something so refreshing about that!

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  9. Yeah, I see myself in the list...

    I am trying to be "Let go and let God Loree"

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    1. Ha, love it, let God Loree. Thought of a few for me--Let God walk Wendy (neh, that makes me sound like a dog). Let God wait Wendy. Sure, I'll go with that tonight after this super busy and now snow storm-filled day.

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  10. Colleen. Definitely Colleen. Sigh.

    {Great post though!}

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    1. Yeah, she's the one that pops out like that weird dancing head in those car commercials (that guy's confidence)...mine is Colleen reminding me I haven't squashed her as much as I thought.

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  11. Like most of the others, I can confess I have been each of these in my time. M yfavorite one of your word pictures is Barb. I used to dislike being by myself, then I got into writing.:)

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    1. I swear there's truly something freeing about being able to sit and unleash characters, watch them unravel on the page. Once I learned to set my imagination free like that, I found something similar to what I think you're alluding to--I enjoyed my "alone" time while immersed in the writing process.

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  12. Busy Betsy sounds familiar. Now to un-busy myself... :)

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