Why is it that something you want really badly doesn't seem to come along quickly?
Oh, if I had the answer to that, I'd be riiiich!! Or at least waiting for my ship to come in to capitalize on it. I have "in limbo" situations that I'm "patiently" waiting for, I'm not sure how to go about being patient.
The house has been on the market for three months. The price has dropped twice. A plethora of people have come to see it. So why hasn't it sold? Why? I want it sold now! Patience...
I've been editing my Chapter 2 for quite a bit of time. Why hasn't it come together? I want it done now! Patience...
Someone in my life...patience...
Somethings may never come along at all. There's no patience great enough for those things. You just have to learn to put them aside. I don't know really know how to do that. Some say that one can never put away the love you feel or the hurt you've encountered. You just learn to deal with it and use it to your advantage.
Maybe that's what I'm doing. I'm learning to use these things in a positive way. Maybe God is using these hurts and these lost loves to teach me patience. I sure wish He'd hurry up though.
If the house would sell, I could settle down for the next three to four years so I can retire from government service. If I could finish my Chapters 1 & 2, I could feel like I've done accomplished something with my dissertation. They do say that Chapter 2 is the hardest. I sure as hell hope so. If I could find someone whom will allow me to focus the love I feel for someone I can't have to indulge it on them...
One of Zig Ziglar's best insights (and he had a lot of them) is, "The chief cause of failure and unhappiness is trading what you want most for what you want right now".
Okay...but how does one keep that "wanting" from creeping up? I do know that surrounding yourself with those that can support you, encourage you, inspire you, laugh with you, cry with you, get mad with you, and get crazy with you is probably the best thing you can do. I was told be a successful business person that "you become that whom you associate with".
I try to associate with those that have the patience and determination to be successful in what they're doing. I know that by watching them, talking to them, learning from them, I will gain the patience and achievements I aim for. Henry David Thoreau said, "What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals".
So if my goal is to sell the house, and I have to be patient, I become the calm person I want to be. If I want to finish Chapters 1 & 2, and of course Chapters 3-5 later, I need that calm spirit to be able to critically think in the terms I need to become that researcher and Doctor of Philosophy. In turn, that calm, that patience will allow me to wait for whomever God has for me.
I may want these things now, but delayed gratification, patience, and the willingness to "let go and let God" direct the path I need to be on, will gain me more happiness and the success that God wants all of us to achieve. Okay...but can He give me a clue to when? Just kidding...
...and a PhD means...patience plus determination equals success and happiness...
