Have you ever called a business or company and been put on hold? Not just for a few minutes, but for 30 minutes—or even an hour?
That happened to me last week.
At first, I sat patiently for 10 or 15 minutes, waiting to hear, “Hello, how may I help you?” But the voice I was waiting for didn’t come on the line for nearly an hour.
After about 20 minutes, I decided to put in my headphones and get some work done around the gym. I was still on hold, but I was also able to be productive.
Even though my call was on hold, I didn’t have to put everything else on hold.
As I thought about that phone call and all the waiting, I began to wonder how many of us put our lives on hold because we are waiting for a voice to tell us it is okay to move forward, okay to do something else, okay to leave something behind, or simply that everything will be okay.
We wait.
And we wait.
We keep listening for the voice.
When the voice doesn’t come, we can spend an entire season on hold, believing we cannot do anything until we hear it.
Sometimes we may need to wait before making one decision, but that doesn’t mean every other part of our lives has to stop.
My challenge to each of us is this: Even while one part of your life is on hold, you can still be productive. You can keep learning. You can keep growing. You can keep serving. You can keep taking care of yourself. You can continue doing what is in front of you while waiting for the voice that helps you move forward, do something different, leave something behind, or simply reminds you that you will be okay.
Don’t spend your entire holding season staring at the phone and waiting for someone to pick up.
Put in your headphones.
Keep moving.
Keep growing.
Keep doing what you can.
Make your holding season a productive season.