Everything Waits For You

We live in a world where we are always waiting for something or someone and the experience can become expatriating and frustrating.

Most of us think only of how we can fill the time while we wait.

What chore can I do while I am waiting in line at the grocery store?

What task can I do while I am waiting for a phone call?

We are so concerned with not wasting one precious moment of our day by waiting, that we miss out on a very precious gift.

The next time, you find yourself waiting, try an alternative:

Try to wait with.

Instead of filing the moment, make the moment stretch.

To wait with means:

Waiting with awareness.

Waiting with acknowledgement.

Waiting with anticipation.

When we make waiting active by waiting with, it gives us the alterness to discover something new. It’s not so much about filling time as it is about expanding time.

Waiting with requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within ourselves an unanswered question.

When we wait with, we develop our understanding of what is unfolding.

Sometimes it’s the unknown of waiting with that creates a shift in our thinking. To wait with opens the channels to discovering more.

Waiting is usually about restlessness and resistance.

People who wait to fill time will not have the chance to discover new possibilities.

People who wait for a chance will miss out on helping themselves.

People who wait to become something will risk missing the chance to discover what they are meant to be.

People who wait for a life will have life pass them by. Waiting with is not the absence of action. It’s about being alert, watchful, attentive. It’s about contemplation and trust.

Wait with new eyes and an openness to new discoveries. Wait with a new heart of importance. Wait with a new mind of exploration.

Lead From Within: As leaders, parents, friends, partners, colleagues, as you go through your day, practice waiting with instead of just filling the time. Know that everything awaits you. Life is an ongoing practice of learning, discovering, and exploring.


Lolly Daskal is one of the most sought-after executive leadership coaches in the world. Her extensive cross-cultural expertise spans 14 countries, six languages and hundreds of companies. As founder and CEO of Lead From Within, her proprietary leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.

Of Lolly’s many awards and accolades, Lolly was designated a Top-50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc. magazine. Huffington Post honored Lolly with the title of The Most Inspiring Woman in the World. Her writing has appeared in HBR, Inc.com, Fast Company (Ask The Expert), Huffington Post, and Psychology Today, and others. Her newest book, The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness has become a national bestseller.

  1. Dorothy Dalton

    30. Oct, 2012

    Hi Lolly – I have become a much better “waiter” – that is I have trained myself to benefit from an unexpected gift of extra time.

    What I still struggle to accept is when other people’s bad sense of time impacts me and my time. Ideas?

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  2. lollydaskal

    30. Oct, 2012

    You bring up a very good point. Maybe that can be another blog post.

    When someone makes you wait. Is that respectful?

    When someone does not honor your time?

    Do they realize the impact it has.

    I try hard to invite others into each others reality.

    So if I find being on time important. I let the other person know how I feel. Expressing wants and needs – leaves less room for struggle.

    Reply to this comment
  3. Mike Alt

    30. Oct, 2012

    Hi Lolly,
    Great post, I honestly believe that time and waiting is the creator of the most stress and the deterrent of many great ideas. As you said, if we are so preoccupied with filling time while we wait, we miss opportunities that we subconsciously tune out. The ability to take a step back and wait with awareness, acknowledgement and anticipation is something that I will begin to challenge myself to do. Thanks!

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  4. Clay

    30. Oct, 2012

    Very inspiring post! I used to be so scared of wasting my time if I wasn’t doing something concrete all the time, until I realized that “waiting with” was actually part of these unique life experiences I should fully enjoy too

    Reply to this comment
  5. Edward Colozzi

    30. Oct, 2012

    An important post for gaing perspective Lolly,
    So many of us are rushing around so much, we see “waiting” as a bad thing! If we are delayed, whatever and whoever is delaying us can be the target of our upset feelings.

    Your suggestions raise us to a more gentle altitude, above the fray of the chaos, as you invite us to use the Opportunity of Waitng to grow within, be presnet, and have less attachment to outcomes. Thanks for reminding me to enjoy the wait, next time it happens:) EdC

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  6. Ulrika Nilsson

    31. Oct, 2012

    Thanks for another great blog post Lolly – You’re truly inspirational! This is a true mindfulness approach to life and leadership that really raises awareness about oneself as well as about others. I’d love to see many leaders follow these wonderfully put advices as part of their growth. Thank You for sharing it with the rest of us! /Ulrika 🙂

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  7. Martina

    31. Oct, 2012

    Agreed Lolly. Waiting and patience are gifts that are often overlooked in our society where fast-paced multitasking is applauded. It is in the stillness that you see things better, learn about yourself and transform intentionally.

    Dorothy’s point about others having us wait is something different. This, I have found is usually about control, manipulation and a lack of respect.

    We can however choose even these moments to learn how to wait with.

    Reply to this comment
  8. Andrea Nordstrom

    06. Nov, 2012

    I have always found it incredibly difficult to “wait with” and not fill up every second of time. As an adult with ADHD, filling up every space in my head with a million things is almost how I’m built, yet I can say that I have experienced mindfulness and “waiting with” at times, and it is during those times that time almost freezes, in a wonderful way. It is the closest I have ever experienced to bliss, and I certainly welcome more of it. In fact, I wait in anticipation of it! Thanks for sharing this wonderful post!

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