Wednesday Waiting
Like many of you, I stayed up as late as I could waiting to find out who won the presidential election. I woke up extra early this morning hoping to get an answer to the burning question. As I write this email, the country is almost 50/50 divided between the two candidates and there is still no resolution.
Today’s focus is on patience.
How many times have you had to wait for an answer—after you’ve done everything in your power— knowing the outcome is no longer in your hands. It could be something as big as a presidential election. It could be the wait after applying early decision to your favorite college. Maybe you studied for months, took the bar exam or the state boards, and now you have to wait to find out how you did. Perhaps you have a medical issue, the doctors have run all the tests, and now you wait to hear the results. It could be as simple as following the directions for a soufflé, putting it in the oven, and waiting patiently to see if your recipe worked.
No matter the issue, dilemma, project, or eventual outcome, no one likes to wait.
When we were kids and my parents took us out to dinner, my sister and I would play this game in restaurants: We’d order our meal, wait for a reasonable amount of time, and then excuse ourselves and go to the bathroom. Our hope was that by the time we returned to our table, our food would have arrived. We’d either be excited to see our dinners, or we would still have to wait. Our strategy seemed to work 50% of the time. But the other 50%, we’d be disappointed.
This is exactly how most of the country is feeling today. We will go about our day with the TV playing quietly in the background. And we’ll wait. Our answer might come this afternoon, it might take days or even weeks. Regardless, there is important work to do. We still have a pandemic that needs to be managed. We have an economy that needs to recover and businesses that need to reopen. We have millions of Americans who are laid off. We have serious race issues that need to be improved, both in our country and globally. We have big divisions that need repairing.
Consider that the burden to fix all of these important issues never rests on one person’s shoulders. It is the responsibility of each of us to be leaders. To step up, to do our part. What is it that you are (or will) do, in your little corner of the country, to make your community, your home, your business, your family better?
This week, create some space to think about patience, leadership and taking action. I imagine at this time next week, we will have plenty to discuss!
