How well do you wait for things? Today, let's talk about what happens when we're forced to wait for something.

These days, everywhere you look people are in a hurry. Timesaving devices are cropping up as fast as weeds, because, as we all know by now, time is money, and we're all in a mad rush to either save it or spend it. But what happens when you are forced to wait for something? You have a 4:00 dental appointment, but you don't get in until 4:45. You are on the end of a line that is ten people long at the supermarket, or a couple of hundred people long at the movie, waiting for your turn. Or, and here is a growing problem in U.S. cities, you are stuck in traffic - just like I was nearly every morning last week.

Now, as I see it, there are two ways to look at waiting. You can spend the time fuming, working yourself into a tizzy about all the valuable time you're being forced to waste, raising your blood pressure and your stress level as you sit or stand there. Or, you can regard waiting as a gift of time. What can you do with this gift? Here are just a few suggestions. 

Use it to develop possible solutions to personal problems. Do mental gymnastics - commit something to memory or see how long a list of things you can remember. Get creative. Make up life histories for the people around you. Carry a book with you, one that you find difficult to read for more than a short period at a time. Set goals for the rest of the day or week. I heard of an actor who, while waiting at a stoplight, would hold in his stomach until the light turned green. Think of something unexpected you could do to please the people you love. 

Don't waste the time you spend waiting. Use it to create a better life.