The Power of WAITING

Doing the Impossible in Today’s World,*

In the days of the Titanic, ship-to-ship radio had only just been introduced by Marconi. News and messages could take several weeks to be received after being sent.

Most financial transactions were only learned of after the impact had already been felt and dealt with at the source—while across the Atlantic, many surprises were still waiting to be experienced.

Now? We’re living in a world of fractions-of-a-second transactions, with immediate repercussions. Corporate decisions are announced worldwide almost before they are even made. Brains are forced to digest everything at the speed of light.

Try waiting for a reply to your WhatsApp message.
Feel that stress? Ploughing through the ceiling?

We don’t send letters anymore. It takes too long—and, frankly, I guess too many people would explode from the sheer pressure of not knowing.

When we speak, we are already being spoken over.
Good ideas vanish faster than a super-fast toilet flush.

So what is this power of waiting?
It’s a practiced art—one that seems to have been completely forgotten.

Buses take too long.
Food delivery feels eternal.
And let’s not even mention complex computer routines.

Yet, Fogy has always been a time juggler. Right from his early days in the kitchen, he knew: each food type requires a different amount of preparation time. Each meal must be served hot. And with 50 or more clients all vying for that perfect plate, the pressure on timing and coordination is immense.

Add to that the chaos of a megalopolis—traffic, delays, unreliable buses—and juggling the same 24 hours becomes an Olympic event.

Being time aware is absolutely essential.
Accepting the cultural lateness of many Brazilians? That’s not always an option anymore—not if things are to run.

But wait—wasn’t this about waiting?
It is. And it starts with something simple.

Let’s try that conversation again.
So much can go wrong when we jump into responding—especially when what’s been said is just a provocation.

It’s always better to pause. Take a breath.
Make sure you’ve structured what you want to say.
It takes practice—but waiting, especially for any other comment to land, is often your best defence.

Yes, but how do you avoid leaving it too late?
Practice. Timing. Preparation.

Waiting on the road
Look at traffic. Rushing. Risk-taking.
So many people end up throwing their lives under buses—figuratively or literally—through unwise, ill-conceived, unnecessary manoeuvres.

Wait.
If it really matters, move ahead—but wait for the right moment.

Waiting in line
What about the time it takes before it’s your turn in any queue?

Use that wait. Learn a little more.
Think about why you’re there.
Pay close attention to those ahead of you—what can you learn from their errors?

It might just happen that you forgot something important, and waiting gave you the chance to do something about it.

Buying that special ‘thing’
It's always so tempting, isn’t it, to take advantage of that especially great-looking deal. It seems perfect—except, do you have all the facts? Have you done the necessary research? Have you compared prices, values? Is your budget really going to cover it?

Maybe waiting a little longer is the best choice.
But not too long. Know what you really want, then wait until the stars align—or better still, align them yourself.

In strategy and negotiation
We need an answer right away! What is your figure? What do you want out of this?

Common enough questions. But the art of negotiation is to wait for the other party to respond.

So many people rush ahead with their own ideas, demands, goals—without patiently waiting to see whether those goals fall within the same scope as the other party. And how will you know?

Be prepared to wait. And wait. And wait long enough for all cards to be played.
Then, and only then, can the game move forward.

And that breakup
That heady and unnecessary attack only damages what is a serious and fragile moment. Let the steam dissipate. Let nerves settle into a more controllable standstill.

That too is part of the waiting game.
Not to exact retribution, as is so often the want, but simply to cast calm waters over an overboiling, misunderstood, and often unrepairable rent in a person's life.

Time heals all—and waiting before making it catastrophic is always going to be a game changer.

Final thought
Waiting isn’t wasting time.
Waiting is watching. Preparing. Rebalancing.

Waiting might just be your greatest advantage in a world obsessed with speed.

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