The Journey is the final installment of Productive Waiting. Congratulations on finishing the series!
The slogan “Getting there is half of the fun” was devised by Cunnard Line, the last passenger shipping business sailing people regularly across the Atlantic. Their most famous ship was called the RMS Queen Mary, but by the 1950s, airline service was significantly cutting into their volume of passengers.
The Queen Mary was full of amenities like swimming pools, dining rooms, and spas. None of these could be found on an airplane. So, they created a new way to look at sea travel. The focus shifted from crossing the Atlantic to enjoying an 8-day cruise from London to New York. The shift changed from getting to your destination to having a great time and enjoying the journey. In fact, it set the foundation for much of the current cruise line business.
When booking a trans-Atlantic voyage, the planners provided you with the activities and entertainment available to you on your cruise. In a similar way, this series has focused on ideas to make the waiting in your life more productive. Waiting boils down to this: It’s mostly about the journey and less about the destination. In fact, if you keep an open-mind through your journey, the destination may end up being somewhere entirely new and different.
Let’s use this concept to summarize the waiting ideas we’ve explored in this series. In particular, I want to explore the benefits you may experience from altering your perspective. Join me as we complete one last stop on the journey and reach our final destination.
It’s Really About the Journey
The reason the voyage or the getting there can be the best part of the fun is due to what can be accomplished during that time. Focusing on the journey raises your level of enjoyment compared to simply enduring or being bored by the wait. In any journey, an unexpected detour or pit stop offers curiosity and surprise. Or, you could decide to use the time to learn more about something that interests you. Finally, and this is my favorite part, completing the journey with an adventurous friend creates energy and excitement.
As we wrap up my series about waiting, let’s think about it as a journey. Let the journey reveal new things and enticing side trips. Be on the lookout for something extraordinary right in front of you. Most of all, surround yourself with people with whom you want to journey. There are new things to experience as you wait for what life has to offer, whether it be a short wait at the post office or a long wait like saving to buy a home.
Steering Toward Better Outcomes
In the previous articles, I focused on what you could put into the waiting period and activities that will keep you busy. We didn’t spend much time on outcomes, benefits, and feelings. I would like to do that here. If you focus on productively waiting, here are some of the benefits you can experience:
- The thrill of something new. How could you make this situation different? If you cannot get out of it, how can you get into it? Engaging your mind creates all kinds of new learning opportunities.
- Seize an unexpected opportunity. Possibilities to jump out of your lane cross your conscience every day. Unfortunately, we are too busy, stressed, or preoccupied to recognize them.
- Enjoy the company of fellow waiters. People all around you are dealing with similar situations and their own challenging period of waiting. Reach out and forge relationships with these people.
There are certainly more than these three benefits, but I think these three are the most beneficial, tangible, and achievable outcomes. If you are going to put in the time and effort to meditate, learn, practice, and seek support, you should be getting something out of it. Let’s read further to take a peek at these beneficial outcomes.
I hope each of you can find something to divert your attention or engage your mind in a new and unique way (or at least try) prior to getting frustrated with the waiting. Because if you can engage, your mindfulness, stress levels, and state of mind will all dramatically improve. Let’s take a look at each of these benefits.
The Thrill of Something New
You are reading something new I have discovered during the past 12 months. On September 18, 2018, I started my blog with a post about buying shampoo bars instead of bottles of shampoo. This article led me to write more articles to share my experiences plus it also started me with making my own soap and other household products.
These twin paths have been a thrill. Creating stories, soap, or kombucha triggers learning, experimentation, failure, success, wonder, and more. I find the whole process to challenge my mind and the output is satisfying to my soul. Creating something new from scratch is exciting and your work gets more intricate as you gain experience and challenge yourself to go further.
From Harrison Ford’s carpentry to Julia Child’s cooking, we have witnessed together how people have taken their passions and used them to find success. I think the example of Nelson Mandela was a phenomenal example of the thrill of something new. His use of Shakespeare to revolutionize his wait and leave its imprint on a whole country is an unbelievably powerful lesson.
Seize that Unexpected Opportunity
Unexpected. That word easily describes the feeling I had on the morning of December 8th, 2019. I found myself in a foreign environment that I never envisioned experiencing. It ended up being an exciting blessing in my life.
Let me tell you more. After I had written the first article in the waiting series, I had a conversation with my friend, who also happens to be a pastor. As a loyal AspiringSteward.com subscriber, he had read the article and he wanted me to preach about the content. His church is a small congregation of about 30 worshippers.
I thought about his offer and accepted a few days later. I prepared for a week. I was probably over-prepared. I practiced as much as I had for any business presentation. On that morning, I delivered the first sermon of my life. It wasn’t flawless, but I was able to convey my points and touch some people’s life (at least they claimed I did). It was the most personal and emotional presentation I ever delivered.
The sermon was an opportunity to make connections with new people I would have never have connected to otherwise. I also deepened my relationship with people already in my circle. The unexpected experience was invigorating, challenging, and energizing.
Have Fun with Your Waiting Partners
In addition to the people out there that support you, you will find people waiting for the same thing. Coming across these people means you have at least one thing in common. Perhaps, you can parlay that into a deeper relationship. My recent waiting has led me to several fellow waiters. Let me tell you about one of them.
I met Mike at a job search round table. Mike and I hit it off right away and we went to grab lunch. We quickly found out we had much more in common. In no particular order, we both enjoyed sports, we worked in financial services, we both lived in Philadelphia, and our wives share the same name but don’t spell it the same.
I can’t speak for Mike, but I think he would agree that becoming friends and sharing experiences makes the wait easier. We compare notes, commiserate over a meal, or keep in touch via text. It’s nice to have someone on the inside that understands where I’m at. I haven’t found a job, but I found Mike and I’m glad I did. I have found other Mikes as well. One is named Kevin and another is named Joe.
You never know if you will find a Mike unless you live in the waiting. Try it and you may find someone that you never expected to meet.
You’ve Reached Your Destination
Too many times, I act like the anxious kid in the backseat, “Are we there yet?” when it comes to waiting. I fail to see the opportunity or the beauty in the journey. At some point, we all want the ride to be over, but I know we all have opportunities to stretch that ride out a bit farther and live in the moment. We have so much to gain by enjoying the experience and to stop fixating on when it will be over.
The stories in this series attempt to portray the life, joy, and expectation others have found while waiting. We will all experience periods of waiting that will last minutes stretching out into years. These waits do not place our lives on hold. Instead, they constitute a critical part of our lives and they offer the opportunity to find novelty, beauty, and friendship where we least expect to find it. We can enrich our lives by figuring out how to better enjoy these periods of time in the queue.
I hope you have enjoyed the journey so much that you didn’t even realize that we have reached our destination. Thanks for joining me on the journey toward productive waiting. Please feel free to leave a comment or look around the site for other interesting articles or links to content. Enjoy the rest of your trip.