I don’t know what you’re waiting for, but you’re waiting for something.
Perhaps it’s the great love of your life. Maybe it’s a job that you love. Perhaps it’s the freedom to take a vacation or purchase a home or get to some financial independence where you’re not worrying all of the time. Maybe it’s finding the courage to love and believe yourself more and do more of what you know you were meant to do.
Perhaps it’s something else entirely.
But either way, this truth is certain: You’re waiting, and you feel like you’ve been waiting forever, and then you are never going to wherever it is that you want to go.
Sometimes, life can feel like you’re on a hamster wheel and spinning around and around without any progress. It’s an easy trap to fall into, believing the lie that tells us that we’re not making any progress, and nothing will ever change, and life will always be how it is at this moment, and there is nothing on earth you could do to change that. It’s easy to look around at our family, friends, and colleagues and tell ourselves that they’re the lucky ones and that we’re just doomed.
It’s an easy trap to fall into, believing those lies.
But the truth of the matter is that you will not get to wherever it is that you want to go if you keep looking around you and comparing your journey to others.
Their marriage is not your marriage. Their relationship is not your relationship. Their career path is not yours, their finances are not yours, their friendships are not yours, their hopes and fears and dreams are not yours, either.
It will not do you any good to mold your life into something that mirrors the ones around you.
It will not help you to beat yourself up as you continue on your journey, either.
Maybe you haven’t found the love of your life yet, and perhaps, along the way, you’ve found a lot of “not-quite-right” kinds of loves, experiences, and moments that will make for wonderful stories to tell your future children. Or maybe the “not-quite-right” kinds of loves teach you about the things you need that you never realized. Perhaps in these missteps, and in this period of waiting, you’re growing stronger into the person you are so that you can be part of a relationship that will withstand the test of time, too.
Maybe you’re not quite settled in your career yet. Perhaps you’re on your way to become a surgeon, but right now, you’re still in the thicket of residency. And so, your time is not your own yet. And all of the free time you have is spent studying and learning and sleeping so that you can recharge for the endless shifts that await you. Maybe life is hard right now, but in the end, you will get to a place where you’re settled. And rested. And in control of your own schedule. Maybe your career path is somewhat unconventional. Maybe you cannot pay the bills with your art yet, so you have to continue to work at your day job while you spend the moments in between on your words, or your painting, or your films, or whatever passion project is lighting a fire within your spirit. And perhaps all the times you’ve heard “no” will bring you to the moment that is a resounding “yes” — and at that moment, you will know without a shadow of a doubt that your hard work and tenacity will have been worth it.
Maybe your journey is something else entirely.
But whatever it is you’re waiting for, whatever it is that you’re working towards, you will get there, for you can and will do hard things. You are resilient, and you are patient. You will get there because you’re willing to put in the hard work and the dedication it takes to arrive at your destination.
You will get there, but you must keep your eyes on the prize and mute the distractions.