Chad Watkins:

We all hate hearing that four letter word – WAIT. I never could stand that word as a child when I was ready to go swimming, ready to eat, go to a friend's house, go ride my bike...

Some things never change – as an adult I still don't like that word even though it often comes in the form of a red light when I'm in a hurry, a long line at the check out counter, a phone call that I'm not getting, a delay in the "big break" that I need, people not responding as quickly as I inquire... There are many different occasions in life that can become a wait situation -- finding that new job, car, house, significant other, getting that promotion, selling a posession, transforming our life...

Waiting is a part of life. We should all be used to it by now, yet how many times do we feel the stress begin to build, the rage began to boil, or the depression begin to take hold when we are asked to wait. Remember that what we do today determines who we will be tomorrow. So every time we're waiting, that time is factoring into the "who we will be tomorrow."

How do you use your wait time? Do you use it to build a better you? There are many different approaches we can take during our "wait" times. If it's a short time wait like a red light or cashier's line, we can use it as that moment in our day to "breathe." The time could also be well spent in offering a prayer of gratitude – something we should do every day but don't necessarily always find the time to do it.

If your wait period involves selling a house, finding a life companion, transforming yourself, getting a job promotion – I don't suggest that you only use the techinques mentioned above or you will have an unbalanced life. Yes, you will have expressed every ounce of gratitude you can muster and you should be quite chilled out, but you will miss a lot of life.

Ironic isn't it? How often do we miss out on life while we are waiting? Many people forget to live while they are waiting. They get so caught up in the joy of what they will have that they fail to experience the joys of what they have already received.

Hold your intention on what you are waiting for, but also remember to stop and live. If you become so focused on that one intention, it's like having your best friend with you for every minute -- of every day – for every experience -- for quite some time.

You may love your best friend and see them or talk to them every day but face it, you do have time away from them. If you never got a moment away – even for a week – you would probably find all of those feeling of love turn into frustration, agrravation, annoyance... We call that "good feelings gone bad."

Well, it works the same way while waiting and holding an intention. If you forget to live and you only hold to that intention – you will find that your thoughts become ones of doubt, fear, failure, disbelief. In the end, you are driving away that which you desire the most.

Exhale, chill, relax – plan, visualize, work hard, -- be grateful, have fun, be silly – life is like a tight rope wire--you've got to stay balanced if you don't want to fall off. Yes, there will be times of wait, but don't forget to continue living while you're waiting.