Many people have to wait a long time for something to happen. Tom Petty was right: The waiting is the hardest part. It’s easy to become impatient, especially when you cannot see any signs that anything is happening. It’s similar to the seed germinating within the earth. Although there may be millions of chemical reactions going on beneath the surface of the soil, from topside, the dirt you can see resembles a mute brown plane, keeping its own counsel.
The urge to dig up the seed to check on its progress is almost overwhelming, and yet, in order for the seed to sprout and bear fruit, you must trust that the process is on schedule. If you have chosen the correct soil for the seed, watered it properly, situated it where the sun can shine upon it and fertilized it accordingly, then you must have faith that something will happen.
In keeping with the seed analogy, what are the processes needed to partner in your own growth? What can you do to set the stage for results?
Here’s a brain bender: through the action of asking these questions, you have already begun the process. You have activated the Möbius Strip of asking and receiving. One relies on the other in order to generate results.
“Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it.” — Jules Renard
What does that process look like, in practical terms? Overcoming your own inertia is the most difficult part. Once you have an inkling of what you want, you must seek out the conditions and people where you’ll have a greater chance of coming into contact with others from whom you can learn and grow.
• Decide that you want to move forward
• Take steps toward achieving it
• Research your desired field
• Read about people who have succeeded in your chosen industry/goal
• Reach out to resources that related to your goal (either people or organizations)
• Apply for internships or educational opportunities that put you in the path of those who can help you
• Determine the correct steps to reaching the goal (rank them)
• Fulfill your obligations that are within your power to do
• Do the work
Achieving these steps constitute a symbiotic relationship between your asking and receiving. When you receive the effects of your efforts, it’s not a matter of “deserving.” It’s a matter of realizing (or actualizing). Once you recognize yourself as an individual with agency, you will begin to see yourself as worthy. And from that sense of worthiness, concrete and tangible results flow.
One of the best ways you can thank someone for giving you a chance is to take it.
Ultimately, you must be willing to act when the opportunity for which you have been waiting presents itself. You must trust that your time spent preparing has been effective.
When have you had to wait for something? How did it pan out? Were you able to pay it forward? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
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