063 - Growth in the Waiting

Welcome to The Fully Lived Life podcast! A podcast for those who are longing to pursue the full life and want to break free from anything that holds them back. Listen in as two friends - a psychologist, Dr. Merry, and a life coach, Gillian - talk about life, love, and purpose - with wisdom, humor, and transparency -  through the lens of science, psychology, and faith.

What?

“When you’re waiting, you’re not doing nothing. You’re doing the most important something there is. You’re allowing your soul to grow up. If you can’t be still and wait, you can’t become what God created you to be.” (Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits: Spiritual Direction for Life’s Sacred Questions)

“Creativity flourishes not in certainty but questions. Growth germinates not in tent-dwelling but upheaval. Yet the seduction is always security rather than venturing, instant knowing rather than deliberate waiting.”

So What?

Waiting isn’t a passive act. It does take intentionality and it takes patience. As long as we don’t numb ourselves and just try to “get through” - the reality is we may need to do some of that to get through Covid, let’s be honest - but there is much reflecting and focusing on our priorities and values that we can do.

What if we focus on our inner growth, rather than just our outward performance or external goals we achieve during this time?

Now What?

Therapeutic Tip:

Schedule a Daily Inner Life Examen for at least 15 min - review the day and think about how you felt, what you thought, how you reacted throughout the day. What might be underlying your reactions, what triggers, what fears/insecurities? If you’re a Christ-follower, invite Jesus into that examen. This isn’t about problem-solving but just about being present in your inner life.

Life Coaching Tip:

Gillian encourages our listeners to do the above exercise in the therapeutic tip from Dr. Merry, and to listen in to a future podcast on “Keeping Our Own Company”  Waiting often involves periods of just being with ourselves and this will encourage us in the development of waiting well.

Links:

Dr. Merry’s book: https://amzn.to/2rCrJyI

Dr. Merry’s website: https://drmerry.com

Dr. Lin & Associates: http://drlinandassociates.com

Gillian’s Website: https://gillianmcshane.com

Sue Monk Kidd, When the Heart Waits: https://amzn.to/3r1t76y