Waiting………

It always amazes me as to how many people, myself included at times, are waiting for something to happen for them or me to live life to the max! I know that most are tempted at times to truly believe that the grass is greener on the proverbial other side. Sadly, many marriages fail and end up in divorce court because someone believed that the passions, at the moment, would override failed communication or spouse number 3 would be the one. So, what is it that stops you or me from seeing each day as an amazing opportunity to live life to the max even doing just ‘normal stuff’?

I will be the first to confess that what’s happening at CES 2017 isn’t going to revolutionize my life! Yet, there is still something inside me that at times believes that my life would rock if only I had a newer car that had blue tooth, backup camera and blah, blah, blah. Why isn’t it possible to be content, not complacent with my present setting? I was talking to someone recently that I was attempting to persuade that living your life in neutral or seeing others make it happen while you are a bystander isn’t the way to live. Yet, I know that the amount of energy, planning and determination it takes to go from being a person that watches to someone that shifts into drive isn’t easy.

I admit that I get annoyed with people, especially millennials, that spend most of their life on the couch either playing video games or watching YouTube clips that seem to be clueless about the pathway to seeing their dreams become a reality. Yes, it does take effort, real work, to make a life that is living in neutral to shift into action tomorrow. What is the ingredient for making a life go from blah to YES! It is intentionally being a person that plans, gets ready and then follows through and decides to JUST DO IT!

I could write a ‘Dummy’s Guide to 5 Easy Steps to Make Great Excuses’ as I have listened to many teens and 20 somethings give a rationale behind why they aren’t doing anything or going anywhere. Why intentionally choose to live this way and watch the world quickly pass by you? I would get so bored so fast if all I did was stay home and literally do nothing? I admit that setting goals and following through requires real work, planning and the ultimate difficulty is that you will fall on your face at times and fail.

I have vivid memories of how my mom taught us how to wait in a constructive way for my dad to return from his tour of duty in Vietnam. Usually he would be gone for 6 months. My mom was someone that believed that keeping routines helped life happen when you face the ‘waiting game’. There wasn’t anything you could do to make time going by any faster. The key ingredient for her was to help us keep life normal but choose to do something that would get our minds off my dad’s absence and even fear that he could be shot down in his B-52. Thankfully my dad survived 6 tours of duty without any close calls. I had other friends whose mothers were always nervous wrecks that didn’t know how to handle waiting.

I recently attended a Boy Scout Court of Honor to make a presentation. I was quickly reminded about the Scout’s motto of always being prepared. I was reminded as various awards and merit badges were presented that being prepared didn’t happen by accident but required real effort and work on the part of the scouts.

Stop living your life in neutral and playing the waiting game and be someone who intentionally gets ready for action regardless of what is happening!