The Great Wait

Because I am a recovering compulsive do-er, I'm now a big proponent of slowing things down.

But lest my encouragement for you to slow your roll go too far, today I am offering a reminder about the costs of waiting.

Pending decisions are major energy drains.

Dennis and I recently waited, and waited, and waited some more to make a big financial decision.

We had lots of good, logical reasons to wait. We thought a lot. We debated some. We crunched the numbers again. We read articles. We negotiated. We weighed our options.

Also. We were afraid.

I don't mean terror of course. I mean afraid to do something irresponsible.

And, ok, maybe secretly afraid to end up as a bag lady. Which it turns out is a very common fear for middle age, middle class women...just ask google.

I noticed the waiting was becoming a problem when life started to feel strangely dull.

Things that should have been delightful - a delicious sushi dinner, a crisp fall day, an hour to cuddle up with a good book - were not filling me up.

I did a quick scan for unmade decisions - a classic energy killer.

There were a couple. But this financial decision stood out loud and clear. It was time to stop The Great Wait.

We made the decision within 12 hours.

We haven't doubted it since.

Occasionally we still feel a little afraid. But we aren't waiting to get a guarantee that isn't coming.

Being afraid of uncertainty, that's just part of being human.

There are plenty of good reasons to defer decisions.

But if you notice that you're engaging in The Great Wait so that you can:

• be sure you're right

• make the perfect choice

• stay above blame

• avoid any uncertainty

The Great Wait has gone too far. It's time to act, my friend.

Much love,

Marijke Ocean