This world has become too small and too fast and we all know it, but too few of us actually know what to do about it.

But the answer is right in front of you, between you, your goals and your next awesome, you rock!, accomplishment.

The moments that matter are The In-Between…

How many times do we catch ourselves just waiting?

Waiting… waiting…. waiting.

We fill up those moments by distracting ourselves with randomness and shiny things, anything to make time pass so you can get to the next thing on your list, not realizing how important and valuable those moments of waiting are.

I know, I’ve done it for most of my life, rarely enjoying where I am and what I am doing. So much time lost, and it makes me feel ashamed.

It’s sad, because life has so much to offer all of the time, not just during moments of breakthroughs and rewards.

The journey, life, is in-between the start and the finish, and not always while doing something you want to be doing.

Life is in line at the bank or on the cold bench while waiting for the late taxi.

Life is just as much in the spaces of time that on the surface seem so wasted and unnecessary.

The moments of your life waiting.

Tick tock – tick tock.

Wouldn’t it be great if you could speed up time and just skip to your next big thing, or cut in line and get your tickets before everyone else?

We are wasting our lives believing the moments waiting are not worth it, but they are.

What if we look at what waiting really is – it is our life, and accomplishments are the results of what we do while we are waiting.

What I discovered is that I am always waiting for something, inspiration, motivation or someone, like my editor (the longest wait of all).

I can’t get around those moments stuck in line or rush the taxi through bumper to bumper traffic.

I can’t rush the editor (or bypass her either), and I can’t get my next book into your hands before it has been written.

But, I’ve learned this much, while waiting for the taxi I can contemplate what I’ll write next, and instead of wishing I could get my next book into your hands now, it might better if when I get home I sit my butt in the chair and begin writing it.

And guess what? The late taxi afforded me time to figure out the next chapter. You know the chapter, there’s always a chapter that perplexes us.

The wisest are the most annoyed at the loss of time.
―Dante Alighieri (Tweet this quote)

What too many of us realize too late in life is that the more impatient we become with the waiting, the less we enjoy where we are and what we have right now.

Imagine taking a dream cruise visiting one exotic island after the next, but because you’re constantly looking forward to the next amazing location you can’t relish the moments of splendor in your current location.

When we are impatient our imagination builds up our anticipation and our expectations, then we want more and we want better, but when we get to wherever we are going it can never really be good enough.

We want to be more loved, we want to be more cared for, we want to have more friends and we want more money, more shiny things – more, more, more – better, better, better.

We don’t even realize how much we are wanting, because we are not slowing down enough to take stock in the precious moments in-between.

I know I didn’t.

This moment, right now, must be enough because it is all you’ve got. (Tweet This)

If this moment is enough for you, then so will the next and the next, and the joy of life will become you.

There’s never enough if what you have and where you are right now is not enough. (Tweet This)

If you want to enjoy the future, you must relish the present, wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Each moment has it’s purpose and no moment is ever wasted, unless we, ourselves, waste it.

What are you doing while waiting?

If we don’t take the time to discover the value in all of our moments we will have fewer accomplishments and ultimately, have less to look forward to.

In turn, our moments of waiting will be longer and more agonizing when they should be moments of reflection and creation.

My friend, Jeff Goins has written a much needed and extremely thought provoking book titled “In-Between”. If you’ve ever wondered where the time goes while waiting and what you can do about it, then read his book and you’ll discover you’ve got more time for meaningful living than you may realize.

The moments you lose while waiting should be the moments you treasure most. All you need to do is find out why and how.

Read Jeff’s book today, it may just change your life.

7 Tips For Mindfulness:

 1. Get in touch with your thoughts.

What are you thinking about while waiting? Are your thoughts constructive, positive and enthusiastic? Or, are they scattered, negative and impatient?

By getting in touch with your thoughts you can lower your anxiety and patience during periods of waiting and establish control over what you are thinking about, redirecting your thoughts to more beneficial ones.

You can choose your thoughts. Choose good ones.

2. Focus on what’s right.

When you examine your thoughts closely enough it’s likely you’ll find that many of your thoughts are negative and pessimistic, filled with what’s wrong and what’s not going well, or what you haven’t achieved and whose not paying enough attention to you.

That’s normal and natural, because when we allow our thoughts to do as they like there’s a little pessimist in all of us who likes to take control and make everything seem the worst it possibly can be.

The only way to counter the little pessimist is to call it out for what it really is, a little antagonizer that enjoys turning your world upside down. Turn the tables on it by focusing on what’s right in your life.

The more you focus on what’s right within you and around you, the smaller the little antagonizer’s voice gets.

It will fight you hard at first by telling you nothing is right and you may believe it, but over time its voice will be easy to ignore as if it is not even there. When it does get louder in moments of difficulty you’ll be prepared and remind yourself of what is right in your life.

3. Focus on your breathing.

Allow your breathing to become slow and steady. Slow and steady breathing brings calm and relaxation and the ability to slow down racing thoughts and the need to move.

Slow, steady breathing is beneficial to your brain and your entire body, moments while waiting are perfect times for consciously breathing.

4. Express gratefulness for moments of calm that waiting provides.

It’s difficult to be anxious and in a hurry when you are expressing gratefulness for the moments you have, wherever and whenever they are.

5. Use generosity to bring time under your control.

When in line and it is your turn, allow the person behind you to go before you, especially if you notice he or she is in a hurry.

This will make waiting a pleasure for you and allow you to be generous to others who have not yet mastered waiting.

6. Speak positive affirmations (they don’t have be out loud).

Use the in-between moments to express thankfulness for where you are and what you are doing.

When you are thankful for every moment of your life, the good and the not so good, life becomes worthwhile and you begin to see things and hear things you may have never noticed before.

7. Keep. It. Simple.

Focus on one moment at a time, give your full, undivided attention to this moment, right now.

You can’t be in two places at once and neither can your thoughts. Too often we have one foot in yesterday and one foot in tomorrow and all we are doing is walking over today.

Focus on now, because the now moment is the most important of your life, it’s the only one you will ever be in.

One last thing, there’s nothing wrong with wasting time on purpose, we all need down time, we all need moments of distraction and wonder. Enjoy those moments.

Are you treasuring the moments in-between? Share in the comments.