Ever feel like that thing you’ve been waiting for – for so long – is just never going to happen? Maybe you’re waiting for a new baby to arrive, or a new love interest to walk through your door, or a new career to land in your lap… and it just hasn’t come yet. You feel like your head will explode if you have to spend one more minute waiting.
I get it. You’ve been so patient.
But instead of noticing what’s absent from your life, what would happen if you noticed everything that’s present?
I once had to live – for longer than I would have liked – in the small, lower level of a house. Living in a small space was an adjustment. Then there were the creaking floors. The people upstairs would get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom… which of course made noise and woke me every time. The sleep deprivation was making me crazy.
Little did I know that the answer to my problem was simple. All I had to do was take some advice from metaphysical teacher Esther Hicks. She calls it “10 Favourite Things”. The idea is to take a good hard look at your situation, come up with 10 favourite things about it and show appreciation for them every day.
So I did. The place was small and the floors were creaky, but I also noticed how much I enjoyed the gas fireplace, the comfy furniture, the reliable wifi, the flat-screen TV with cable, the easy-to-clean hardwood floors, the great washer and dryer, the hot water on demand, the nice dishwasher, the quiet neighbourhood that was so good for walking my dog, and the nearby lake that was so beautiful. I wrote the list in coloured marker, posted it on the living room wall and read it every day to remind myself of what was present and what was good.
The thing I was waiting for… my new home… didn’t come any faster. But here’s the thing. I enjoyed the wait so much more.
Who knows? Maybe you will, too. 😀