Picture a woman entering a clinic. She checks in, hands over her paperwork, takes a number, and waits to be called. Years ago, she might have flipped through a stack of magazines. Today, she scrolls through her phone, reads a book, or answers emails. In a clinic, waiting makes sense: you have a number, you are in a queue, and you expect your turn to come. But life has a waiting room too, and for many of us, it is time to stop waiting.
The Invisible Waiting Room
There is another kind of waiting room, one you may not even realize you entered. Perhaps you walked in ten years ago, five years ago, or only two years ago. You sit there waiting to live fully, to experience joy, to feel happy, to find fulfillment. But in this waiting room, no one gives you a number, and there is no guarantee your name will ever be called.
I know this room because I have sat in it. Growing up, I saw women work, but I also saw the heaviest financial responsibility fall on men. Women with reliable providers often had more financial security than women without one or without economic power of their own. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I began to believe that when the right provider appeared, my financial life would finally change. The wealth I wanted would come through him.
But as Barbara Stanny put it in the title of her book, Prince Charming Isn’t Coming. And Prince Charming does not have to be a person. It can be a promotion, recognition, an opportunity, or anything else you believe must arrive before your real life can begin.
Recognize What Waiting Costs
Most people in this waiting room don’t realize they’re there. Meanwhile, life keeps moving. It does not pause because you feel sad, uncertain, or unprepared. Whether you are fully engaged or sitting on the sidelines, time passes for all of us.
This year brought deep reflection. I had to ask myself why I kept returning to the same feelings, situations, routines, and relationships I had been living for at least five years. I knew where that road led, and its destination had nothing to do with the life I truly wanted.
I realized I could create wealth with or without a Prince Charming. I already had the evidence. Yet I was still waiting for a promotion. I had stopped waiting for a man, but I had simply traded one Prince Charming for another.
And that waiting had a price. I believed my salary could only grow if I got the promotion, so I treated one door as the only door. Meanwhile, I was not investing. Every month I waited was a month my money wasn’t working for me. I spent my time rehearsing things I no longer wanted. My energy wasn’t consistently going where it mattered most: working on myself, clarifying my goals, and aligning my actions with them.
When I stepped back and looked honestly at what I was pursuing, I asked myself: “If today were my last day, would I be proud to call this my life’s achievement?”
My answer was no.
Give Your Energy to What Matters
Waiting divided my attention. I could not fully commit to the life I wanted to build because part of me was still focused on what I hoped someone else would give me. Some days, 30% of me was building and 70% was waiting. Other days it was closer to half and half. But meaningful work requires consistent attention.
Giving your all does not mean acting recklessly. It means making steady progress:
- Show up for what matters every day, even when the step is small.
- Invest now, with what you have, instead of waiting for a bigger paycheck to begin.
- Get clear on your goals, and check whether today’s actions actually match them.
- Build patiently, placing one brick on top of another.
Stop Waiting and Start Moving
Your life has no pause button. It keeps moving whether you are ready or not. I reached a point where the voice inside me became too loud to ignore. It told me I could no longer sit in the waiting room of my own life.
If you are waiting for one person, one promotion, one opportunity, or one open door to make you happy, step outside the waiting room and look again. A clear goal rarely has only one path. There may be many ways to reach the same destination, but you won’t see them while you stay seated and distracted.
This is not a hospital. You are not holding a number, and no one has promised to call your name.
Don’t spend your life waiting for permission to begin. Leave the waiting room, take the wheel, and move toward what you want while there is still time.
Journal Prompts
- What waiting room am I sitting in right now, and when did I walk in?
- Who or what is my “Prince Charming”? What person, promotion, or opportunity do I believe must arrive before my real life begins?
- What has waiting cost me so far, in money, time, and energy?
- If my attention is split, what’s the honest percentage? Where is the rest of it going?
- If today were my last day, would I be proud of what I’m building? If not, what is one brick I can lay this week?
- What other path to the same destination have I not let myself see?
With all my love,
Salima
PS:: Want more space to work through these? Explore my journals and workbooks at edityourinnerworld.etsy.com.
