Thought #20- Life is uncertain; you truly don’t know what’s coming next your way

Yesterday, I was waiting for a mail approval which I still haven’t received despite requesting in person.

Reflecting on this, I just realised that if I knew (only if I knew), I wont be receiving that mail- I wouldn’t have been waiting for it how I waited yesterday- by checking my mail again and again, reloading it, then checking my phone thinking there might be some network issue so connecting my phone to the wifi and then reloading it. Insane right! I am laughing at it now thinking how can I be so impatient.

Isn’t it strange how knowing the outcome can change our behavior? If I had known there would be no reply, I would have been more relaxed and calm. I would have done something that I had planned to do the day before.

But in reality, what happened-

I actually wasted 4-5 hrs and later only realized that the waiting was not needed and I just want to tell you the same,

Waiting period IS NOT GOING to become longer or shorter if you keep on looking at it. The waiting period will be how it will be irrespective of whether you reload the page or check your phone 5 times or 50 times, the count doesn’t matter. The count is not going to decide how fast the waiting period will end.

In the evening one of my friends told me,

“Don’t worry this will be done soon. It won’t get delayed. They have to say something whether they approve or not. They will respond. Relax. The formality will be done in time”.

And I just searched, what is the duration for the form to be filed? What’s the deadline? If I miss the deadline, what will be the consequences?

After all the research, I became calmer and didn’t reload the page there after. I focussed on executing the plan that I had made.

There might be many advice that experienced fellows can give in how to deal with situations like these and I think I got a few (though I do not consider myself an experienced fellow), I think you can do the following if you find yourself in a situation like this:

i) Do your research FIRST as to what could be the consequences if things do not happen within time. Make yourself familiar with it and that would be enough to calm your mind down. When there is proof that you can show to your brain and say this is the worst that could happen, there will be a delay in getting this thing done but we still have “n” no.of days. I know it is not happening how we planned it to happen but it will eventually be done.

ii) It is YOUR TIME. YOUR DAMN TIME. You decide what you want to do with it. I seem to take it as a brain game. The game is Me vs. them.

If you are not using your time for yourself then you are simply giving it away. Another person has the same 24 hours/ 1440 minutes/ 86400 seconds and they are using the time for their own benefit so if you are wasting your time waiting, doing nothing close to what you had planned then my friend you are losing out. And so did my brain when I wasted 4-5 hrs waiting.

iii) Engage in some sort of activities that distract your brain and shift your focus from the thing that you are waiting for. I usually do the following:

• Engage in a conversation that is in person & not over phone (as I am trying to take myself away from the source be it laptop or phone).
• Read a book or an article
• Have a meal or snack

There are other things as well that you can do, I have just mentioned what I had done yesterday.

The crux is do not stay ideal. There is a proverb that goes,

An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.

If you are waiting that means you are not doing anything and you will end up overthinking which is also very energy-draining. So, try to engage in something productive and go ahead.

I will end this post here. Take care of yourself and make the most of your time.