What Are You Waiting For?

“What are you waiting for?”

Our default response is to hear that as a rhetorical question.

“What are you waiting for?” meaning:

Don't wait.

“What are you waiting for?” meaning:

The right answer is “nothing, let’s go.”

What if you take this question literally for a moment? What if you really have to answer it?

If you know what you want and you are not taking action in order to move towards what you want, you are, in fact, waiting for something.

When you can name what that “something” is, you can reframe, you can strategize, you can commit, you can put yourself on the hook, you can create opportunity. 

Want to see this in action? Let's take the example of home ownership. Maybe that's what you're working towards this year.

I want to own my first home.

What are you waiting for?

I’m waiting until I can put down 20%.

Seems pretty logical. If you want to buy a home, you’ll need money in the bank. But that 20% down payment isn’t going to magically appear in your bank account. If you decide to wait, you could end up waiting forever. 

Here's what this same idea looks like when you put yourself on the hook and move away from “waiting” and move toward “action”.

I want to own my first home. So, I am actively saving so that I have enough money for 20% down payment. 

Ok, now you are in action. Now you are on the hook. And now you can get even more granular about what the steps are.

I am cutting out Postmates.

or

I am auto-deducting X number of dollars from my paycheck each week, and placing it in a savings account.

or

I'm sitting down with my spouse and going through every dollar and cent we have spent in the last year to see where we can make adjustments for the coming year. 

See where I’m going with this?

Now you're not waiting. Now you're moving. Now you're gaining traction. Now you are taking steps to bring yourself closer to what you want. 

So… what are you waiting for?