The Waiting Room: Part 2 – ‘Hurry Up’!

It’s a cliché to say that we live in a speeded-up world. IT systems and internet connections are marketed for their speed.  We tap our fingers impatiently on the desk if the PC is running slowly or we’re forced to use an older model. Used to a state of the art service station, we fidget at the traffic lights or fret if we have to fill up at an older slower pump. And the difference will likely be only a few minutes. 

 

Well maybe you’re different. Maybe you’re chilled and stand mindfully watching the digits turn on the pump and enjoying the sunshine (UK readers, for ‘sunshine’, read ‘rain’ at any point in this article). I have to remind myself to breathe, slow down and savour the moment. 

 

We become quickly frustrated in queues, at the unanswered call, the sluggish service. Certainly the world can offer plenty examples of inefficiency but it’s not all about that. Something is happening to us. We’ve entered a state of constant high alert when urgency becomes a habit even when there is no time pressure. Some people, left alone or in silence, can be quite unnerved, so used are they to constant sound and bustle. Others accustomed to the demands of work or caring for family are so used to being busy that they wouldn’t know what to do with ‘spare time’. ‘What’s that?’ they ask, sometimes ruefully, sometimes cynically. 

 

A client recently responded to me like that. It was clear to me that he was so stuck on the hamster wheel that he could not imagine stopping even for a quiet 10 minutes or so in the day. Yes, his job was genuinely busy and pressured but who is more likely to cope with that situation? The person who never stops or the person who takes even a little time out to allow their adrenalin levels to return to normal?

 

So when we’re in the waiting room of everyday life – hanging on the phone, standing in the queue or performing a ‘mindless’ task, how can we use that to our advantage? First of all let’s look at the word ‘mindless’. We use that in a negative sense to mean something so trivial that we don’t need our minds. But our minds need a rest sometimes. If I’m peeling vegetables or filing papers, I could listen to music, say a prayer for a loved one, or just enjoy being alive? 

 

Am I so addicted to significant exciting experiences that I can’t enjoy the ordinary? Anyone who has recovered from a life-threatening illness or dark time of any kind knows the joy of everyday things – being able to take a shower or walk down the road for a newspaper. It’s such a shame that we often need something dreadful to bring us to that awareness.

 

So how can we relax in the Waiting Room?    

 

Essential

 

 

 

Optional

 

 

It’s easy to say, but harder to put into practice. Try at least one strategy, twice a day, then build it up until your system resets to a new default – the one that smells the roses instead of rushing past them.

For Coaching While you Wait, contact Alison: www.wordsinaction.net author of 'How to Stop Flogging a Dead Horse'