The waiting game

Published On: May 19, 2017 11:20 PM NPT By: Shikha Bahety


Each moment there is some or the other thought that keeps going on in each one of our minds. We think of many things within during 24 hours of a day. In the middle of our hectic schedule, we are always in a rush hardly have time to concentrate on one thought at one point in time. To think about it, our mind is a multi-tasker. Multi-tasking is an important skill and at the same time it gives an emotional high.

I always feel intrigued about what people might be thinking when they have to wait in a queue for a bank transaction or while stuck in a traffic jam. People might make up different scenarios in their head if they are creative. They could even feel that the cashier is making them wait intentionally. In all this chaos inside our mind, we forget to train our brain. Staying focused can be tough with millions of things going in our mind. While some people can concentrate best in the morning, some can do it late at night. 

Studies show that 90 percent of people do their best thinking outside the workspace. We need to be careful about where and when can we focus the best, to allocate our toughest tasks for those moments.

The human attention span is approximately 8 seconds, and some state that healthy individuals are unable to sustain attention for more than 20 minutes at a time.

It is said that patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting. Some get cranky while some go with the flow while having to wait for something. Each moment of wait gets one person closer to talk to another person during the wait in line.  We all usually observe people around us, overhear their conversation even if we don’t want to, and smile thinking about funny situations around it during the wait in line. 

Our mind is never at rest from the start of the day, till we close our eyes at night and  is constantly teeming with thoughts which might be of our concern and even which might not.

Although the waiting game can be hard but it can even be considered blessing. At this time when our mind is constantly flooded with millions of thought, we can utilize the time during the wait in queue whether it be to purchase petrol or to pay bills to think about something more constructive and positive.

Shikha is chartered accountant and client servicing executive at JWT Thompson Nepal


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