Good Things Take Time

In an instant gratification world, I find myself looking around wondering why things aren't happening for me as quickly as everyone else. One second someone is getting married and the next they got the dream job and are moving to Europe, and here I am back at home working hard and doing my best wondering if my best is truly good enough.

Knowing I'm meant to do good things is sometimes painful because I'm not there yet, but that thought attempts to cancel out all the good things I've done already. Life is not a checklist of things to accomplish and then magically feel better. Accomplishments are not a cure-all for the confusion and mystery life brings. I'm starting to learn much of the good things I'm working towards actually exist in what I call the messy middle.

If I weren't making a mess, that would mean there isn't some sort of masterpiece on the other end of it all. It would also mean I'm not truly giving it my all. I used to lean into seeming like I had everything together, and many people around me reinforced that belief because I misled them into thinking I was somehow different from them. I don't have some secret clue to give me edge, I'm human and that is an inherently messy thing to be.

The phrase, 'good things take time,' used to infuriate me. A voice in my head told me I could do it differently and more efficiently. That voice pushed me towards perfectionism and burnout, but I'm grateful for that because it forced me to shift my perspective on things. Good things do take time. I know that's maybe not something you want to read either if you've ended up here.

Sometimes the good thing is ready to happen for you, but there is something else that needs to align in the world for the conditions to be just right. Good things taking time also taught me the hard lesson that everything happening to me has little to do with me. There are billions of people, places, and things in this world and they have an interdependent relationship with one another. Maybe I need to be the good thing to someone else to change the course of their life before a good thing happens to me.

What I do know is it isn't all about me and the world we live in makes it seem like we have to be sprinting a million miles a minute towards our self-serving goals without looking out for how we can use our dreams in service of others. The dreams you've had since you were little aren't just for you, they're meant to help make the world a better place, too. I think we all lose sight of that, but I also think it's easier to put our head in the sands in lieu of being a light in a harsh world.

Instead of wondering why good things aren't happening to me yet, I choose to look at the good happening to me every day, even if it isn't a big milestone or achievement. I helped people today through teaching Pilates and that is a good thing. I didn't give up when I got another rejection email and that is a good thing. I feel the pressure building which I've rebranded into momentum and that is a good thing. I woke up this morning, that's a good thing and that means there is more good coming, even if it takes more time than I want.