The Countdown

I had a conversation last week at my weight watchers meeting about the "instant gratification" world we live in. Cell phones, instant messaging, email, fast food, the internet; it's all instant. It makes us believe that everything should come that fast, that easy. And the truth is, the hard things take much longer.

Think about learning to play a musical instrument, getting through school (at any level), or even having a baby. None of those things happen fast; they take study/practice/patience. And the point my WW leader was trying to make is - you didn't suddenly become overweight yesterday, it took years to get that way, shouldn't taking the weight off take some time as well?

So all of that got me thinking about this countdown thing I do. I used to put something on my calendar page and then start counting the days until it arrived. Now I even have a special program that will tell me down to the second how much time is left until any event/date/time that I tell it. And to some it may seem as though I'm 'wishing my life away' by always looking to the next event, then the next one, etc.

For me, watching time pass as I wait ever so impatiently for things like my next trip (7 days 5 hours 44 minutes), spring break (41 days 1 hour 28 minutes), and GRADUATION (98 days 39 minutes)- provides me with a mindset that good things are worth waiting for, that each day brings me closer to a goal, and that there are things worth the wait/the work/the effort.