All Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

Is the proverb “all good things come to those who wait” a virtue or a hindrance? Find out if delaying gratification can help you or hurt you.

I am starting a new section on my blog and will from time to time write new posts on proverbs. I think proverbs are fascinating as they represent generally accepted truths that we as a society all nod our heads about and seem to agree on. I also have an older blog post on this proverb which can provide some additional insights. Click here to read it.

Being the instigator that I am sometimes, I do like to question whether or not commonly accepted beliefs still have value – or if they ever did in the first place.

“All Good Things Come To Those Who Wait”

This proverb is one you may have heard many times since young childhood. Your parents may have told you that you had to wait until Christmas or a birthday until you could get that special toy or told to save your money to buy what you wanted. We learn early on that we have to wait our turn. Think about how often we stand in lines waiting our turn for service.

What This Proverb Really Means:

This proverb means that if you wait long enough, be good, and wait your turn your circumstances will change and good things will start to show up in your life.

Here’s The Truth:

This proverb “all good things come to those who wait” promotes a belief which says that you have to wait your turn and if you do you will be rewarded in some way. It is about being patient. The thing is, just how long will you wait? This proverb might have worked just fine when you were younger, but as you get older, the ingrained concept of waiting can stop being a benefit.

In order to build the life you want you need goals, accountability, and an action plan. If you continue to think that you don’t have to do anything except wait it out to achieve what you want, you will be waiting quite a long time and may never get what you want.

How This Affects Your Intuition:

When the underlying belief is about waiting to get what you want, you can end up ignoring signs and synchronicities because they often show up quickly – sometimes in just minutes or hours. When the thinking is that you have to wait you end up ignoring what might be placed right in front of you.

In some cases you are giving up your power to another person and in other cases you give up control to some situation you feel is outside of your control.

The Trade Off Of Delaying Gratification

Are there times when delaying gratification can work in your favor? There are times when waiting can be a benefit, but I also think there are times when delaying gratification can work against you. This is why it is important to listen to your intuition.

Our society celebrates action takers and risk takers. Think about something that you have been waiting to happen – especially if it seems out of your control. Are you waiting for someone to pay back money owed to you? Are you waiting for a phone call from someone that will improve your career? Are you waiting for someone to ask you to get married?

Action Steps vs. Waiting

Look at any situations where you are giving your power to some one or some thing outside of yourself. Pick one that seems most doable and start taking action and stop waiting for someone else to determine how a situation will turn out.

Action could look like having that difficult conversation about when you will get the money paid back to you. Perhaps you ask that special person to get married instead of waiting for them to ask you. Think about what a great story that would make years later. Think about anything you could do to land that job today instead of waiting for a decision from someone else.

Be bold and get creative! The more you ask for what you want, the sooner you can achieve your goals.

What Is Stopping You From Success?

If you have identified some trait or skill you want to bring out more fully into the world, what is stopping you? Do you ever feel burnt out, like no matter how hard you try, you just can’t make REAL progress towards your goals? If you’re sick and tired of feeling stuck and are ready to experience heightened levels of success, prosperity and happiness…

I highly suggest that you take this FREE 30-second quiz from best-selling author and Law of Attraction guru, Natalie Ledwell, to discover the #1 thing that’s blocking your success RIGHT NOW. Click here for instant access. 🙂