The last 3 miles of the Marathon… The last few days before the project deadline… The 5 minutes, 5 days or 5 months before quitting that soul-sucking job, moving to a new city, finding out if you’re on to the next interview, getting married, going on the holiday of a lifetime, or anticipating a breakup… 

There’s a pier down by Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. It weaves out into the Bay and creates a small beach area. The sea lions swim around and frighten the life out of unsuspecting be-goggled wet-suited humans, pelicans dive for fish, and the sea gulls wander around in a perpetual state of hunger.

One late afternoon I sat on the sand and watched a seagull at the waters’ edge pecking at a pine cone. The water kept lapping up and pulling the cone away. It was a nature tug of war. Every now and then the gull would almost manage to drag the cone up onto the beach and then a small wave would wash up and claim the cone. Eventually the gull gave up. The cone seemed to have floated too far away and the gull walked away crying. A couple of minutes later the crying gull flew away. Committed to something new. And a couple of minutes after that…

… the cone washed up on the shore.

Sound familiar? If it does, all I have to say is: Hang in There. Right when things get most uncomfortable and you want to walk/run/crawl away… is often right when things are about to turnaround and come to you.

The waiting game.

These before moments… are some of the most uncomfortable moments in life.

They test our certainty, our patience, our commitment and belief in what we say we want.

Right before the good stuff lies the most uncomfortable stuff. And when we can hang in there through the uncomfortable stuff, we’re often rewarded.