No One Told Me to Wait

I came across a post the other day by Tom Goodwin, and it just stayed with me.. like all day.

He was talking about productivity and the way most of us measure effort (hours logged, emails answered) or progress (tasks completed, boxes ticked) when the only thing that actually matters is impact.

So of course I didn't stop thinking about it.  

Because 'making an impact' is my North Star. God that sounds so ridiculous writing that down.

It’s the thing that makes work feel meaningful. It’s what keeps me moving, what makes the hard stuff worth it.

And yet, if I’m being completely honest, I’m not feeling that right now. I don't feel like I'm not doing the kind of work that really moves the needle.

And if I know that, then I have to ask myself....what the hell am I waiting for?

Because the truth is, I’ve been waiting.

Waiting for things to shift. Waiting for the right moment. Waiting for people to get it, to see what I see, to understand why this work should matter. Waiting for… what, exactly? Permission? Approval?

Because when I stripped it all the way back, past the frustration, past the excuses, the answer wasn’t about them. It was about me.

I think the answer is messy.

Fear, laziness, overwhelm, nervousness about getting it wrong. The usual mix.

But at the core of it, I think I was waiting because it felt easier. Because seeking out the right people, the right spaces, the right work? 

That’s effort. 

It’s easier to hope that the people around you will eventually see things the way you do. That if you just stick it out a little longer, everything will click.

And if I’m being completely honest?

I want to believe in the vision I was sold.

I want to believe that it could really be possible.

I want to believe that if I just gave it enough time, enough effort, it would work out the way I imagined.

And underneath all of that? Annoyingly is a huge dash of ego. 

Because the reality is, if I admitted it wasn’t working, if I admitted defeat, then what?

What did that say about me?

About all the time and energy I’d already invested?

That’s the thing about waiting.

Sometimes, it’s not just about hoping things will change. It’s about not wanting to admit they won’t.

But no one told me to wait.

No one asked me to sit tight while the rest of the room figured things out.

No one said, Hey, pause your own growth while everyone else catches up.

I was doing that to myself.

And the reality of that is hard to swallow, like really hard. Because if I keep waiting, if I keep sitting in spaces where I know I’m not doing my best work....I don’t get better.

I don’t grow.

I just get bored.

And resentful.

And stuck.

So what happens when I stop waiting?

Because this isn’t about storming off to do everything alone. It’s not about deciding I don’t need a team. It’s about choosing better. Choosing to stop dragging people into my world when they don’t want to be there.

Choosing to stop waiting for the work to become impactful, and instead, going where the impact already is.

Because I have to believe that the right people exist.

The right spaces exist.

The right work exists.

But I won’t find any of it if I’m still sitting here, waiting for something that was never going to come.

So I keep going back to the same idea. No one told me to wait....