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Ibukun Ajayi: While You Wait…
I developed a leg ulcer in 2008, at age 15. I was in secondary school at the time. It took years before the ulcer started showing signs of healing. In those years, I was told countless times to drop everything I was doing, including school, and just wait aimlessly for the healing to come. But did I listen? No! In all those years, I finished secondary school, graduated from university, did my NYSC, and started my career.
It’s a known fact that we, as humans, hate to wait for things to happen. Think back to the last time you went to an ATM to withdraw some money. Did you enjoy waiting in line? Were there a few people who pushed and argued over who got there first and whose turn it was to use the ATM?
Waiting is not inherent in human nature, but if this year has taught us anything, it’s that ‘waiting’ is inevitable. The world has spent half of the year waiting on the global pandemic to run its course, and we are still waiting.
Some reasons why we don’t like to wait is that we don’t know what the outcome will be since we can’t see the future. Secondly, we don’t know what to do while we wait. When the lockdown was introduced in most parts of the world, a lot of people became restless because they didn’t know what to do with themselves while waiting for normalcy to return. Thank God for social media, otherwise, a lot of folks will truly be lost.
I have had a first-hand experience when it comes to waiting, and I know for a fact that it isn’t very palatable. A few years ago, I found a lump in my breast and I had a biopsy. After the test, I was told it will take 10 days for the result to be out. A whole 10 days! it seemed like a very long time to wait to find out if I had breast cancer or not.
Are you wondering what I did in those 10 days while I waited?
- I prayed for a positive outcome
- I kept a positive mindset and positive affirmations. I also surrounded myself with positive energy.
- There was a possibility that I wouldn’t get the positive result that I hoped for, so my family and I did research on what the next step will be just in case we got a negative outcome.
- Lastly, I prepared my mind and body to be ready for whatever came next.
The result of the test came back and the lump was benign; it wasn’t a cancerous lump. Thank God!
A lot of us are waiting for a job, a life partner, and opportunities to grow our business/brand. But what are we doing while we wait? How are we preparing for the things we have prayed for?
If you’re looking for a job or looking to change jobs, are you putting out applications? Have you updated your LinkedIn profile? Are you telling people the kind of jobs that you want so they can keep an eye out for you? Are you updating yourself? Have you updated your CV? Are you learning a skill? Are you taking a class? What are you doing to make yourself attractive to employers?
If you’re looking for a life partner, are you putting yourself out there? Have you asked your friends to hook you up? Are you working on yourself? Are you reading books on marriage and self-development? Have you taken classes on emotional intelligence? What are you doing to become the person that someone else will want to spend the rest of their life with?
You’re looking for opportunities to grow your business/ brand, are you collaborating with other brands? Are you networking? Have you shared your ideas with others and asked how they can come in?
The kind of result we get is determined 80% by what we do while we wait. We can’t sit on our asses and expect that what we want is going to fall into our lap. We have to take action!
I developed a leg ulcer in 2008, at age 15. I was in secondary school at the time. It took years before the ulcer started showing signs of healing. In those years, I was told countless times to drop everything I was doing, including school, and just wait aimlessly for the healing to come. But did I listen? No! In all those years, I finished secondary school, graduated from university, did my NYSC, and started my career.
I love this definition of waiting that says, “remain in readiness for a purpose”. This means that you should stay active and be ready for what you want.
As I stated before, waiting is inevitable, but it’s what we do while we wait that matters most. A lot of innovative ideas are born out of waiting, new businesses spring forth from waiting, talents and skills are harnessed while waiting. The surge of social media breakout stars during this global pandemic further proves that a lot of good can come from waiting.
So, get to work!
