To everything there is a season, right?
But how many of us consider “now” the perfect season?
We don’t want to wait. We want what we want right this minute because, of course, “now” is the best time, the right time, to have it.
And yet, rushing things often ruins things. Let’s be honest: rushing things often ruins us.
Can we get things accomplished fast? Absolutely. But will the finished product be our very best effort — something great, even? Not likely.
Time provides space for us to learn. Time allows us space to revise, adjust, perfect our abilities. Time allows us opportunities to build relationships with others — mentors, teachers, friends — and we are better for all of these relationships.
Time provides us space to mature. We discover what’s important … and what’s not. Maybe our dream is worth striving for … or maybe, just maybe, someone else’s dream, someone else’s need, is more important than ours.
In Your Words: What achievement has taken longer than you expected — but it’s been worth it? Why?
In Others' Words: Taking the Time https://wp.me/p63waO-2yV #quotes #achievements Share on X All great achievements require time. https://wp.me/p63waO-2yV #quotes #MayaAngelou Share on X
Comments 12
Interesting question. I’ve always figured that things take as long as they take, and I don’t worry about it. But as a corollary to that, ‘done’ means functional, not perfect. I don’t agonize over individual words in a blog post or book.
I had a brother, and he was writing a book. He wanted it to be great, but died before he finished it.
That taught me something, that fast and good and today is way better than slow and great and tomorrow.
I can live with ‘OK’.
Author
“Done means functional.”
Hmmm. Gonna ponder that for awhile.
As a writer and an editor, I’ve learned “done” doesn’t mean perfect — just as perfect as I can make it when I have to push SEND.
I can try to explain by analogy – I once wrote some structural analysis software that was supposed to predict the way buried structures would interact with soil during earthquakes. It was awfully complex, and I had to break it down into idiotically simple steps to understand what I was doing. It could have been made elegant and mathematically ‘beautiful’, but doing that would have been more a sop to my pride than anything else.
The maths could have been rigorous, forcing exact solutions; I used approximations, so the thing would say, “The heck with it, close enough, next step?”
As it was, the thing worked well, and since it only did one thing at a time it was easy to debug, and to modify. But everyone who looked at the code said something to the effect of it clearly having been written by an ADD chimpanzee. It was that inelegant.
One can’t draw too close a parallel, but I see something similar in writing. When I try for the best turn of phrase, exactly the right word, I’m doing it mostly for me, and I’m starting to replace the vision of what I’m trying to say with an internal ideal of how I WANT to say it.
Not sure if that makes sense?
Author
It all makes sense.
Well said.
Well written.
And sometimes I write to get it down … sometimes to I write for the beauty of it.
I used to think writing was easy, just reach for words and slapdash sokething off, but now I know that good writing takes deliberate, carefully-crafted, painstaking time. I haven’t mastered it but I have a new respect for writing well-done, and am grateful when possible for friends to view my efforts to find weak spots I’ve missed, just as I’m willing to do my best to help work with theirs and add prayers, too. In fact, prayers and the wisdom that results is the most important tool of all.
Author
Work + Prayer + The Insight of Others = Something Beautiful.
How’s that for Writers Math, Dee?
I think I just summed up your comment.
🙂
Hey, I lovle your formula for writers’ math. That’s a keeper!
Author
So glad you like the new formula, Dee! 🙂
Ummmm, yeah. I’ve had things take longer than I ever dreamed. Walking the writing road toward publication has taken a lot longer than I had mapped out for myself. But the good thing is? In the process, God has done some healing in my heart, He’s introduced me to so many amazing people, and He’s taught me more of His faithfulness. Wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Author
Seasons change. We change.
And we achieve more than we ever imagined.
This is a good reminder since our house has been on the market for a while, but neither of us wants to keep dropping the price to try to force it to sell. We think it’s just not the right time. Like you said, rushing it may ruin it.
Author
Kim: I’ll be praying for you while you have your house on the market. How did I miss that?