Good Things Come to Those Who Wait (They’re Lying)

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.” — Abraham Lincoln

Ah yes, the timeless advice passed down through generations like a slightly suspicious family recipe:

“Good things come to those who wait.”

It’s a wonderfully comforting phrase. It suggests that success, happiness, and financial stability are basically running late but definitely on the way — like a delivery driver who keeps saying, “five more minutes, boss.”

Just sit tight. Relax. Your dreams are probably stuck in traffic.

Of course, this advice sounds especially appealing when you’re tired, confused about your career, and would prefer not to aggressively network with strangers on LinkedIn who describe themselves as “thought leaders.”

Waiting feels dignified.

Waiting feels wise.

Waiting requires absolutely no uncomfortable effort whatsoever.

But here’s the tiny problem: waiting rarely produces anything except more waiting.

History is strangely full of people who didn’t sit patiently while greatness knocked politely on the door. Most successful people were doing inconvenient things like working, experimenting, failing repeatedly, and generally making a mess of things until something finally worked.

Which is extremely rude of them, because it contradicts a perfectly nice proverb.

The idea that success arrives to those who simply wait is mostly a poetic misunderstanding of how life works.

Waiting can be useful if you’re aging cheese, brewing tea, or standing in line for nasi lemak at a famous stall.

But waiting for opportunity is a bit like waiting for a taxi in the middle of a jungle.

Technically possible.

Statistically unlikely.

Hustle culture, of course, went to the opposite extreme. If the “wait patiently” philosophy didn’t work, the productivity industry decided the solution must be non-stop action at all times.

No waiting allowed.

Sleep less. Work harder. Optimize your calendar until even your coffee break has performance metrics.

According to this worldview, success isn’t just earned — it’s hunted down like prey.

If you’re not working constantly, you’re falling behind.

If you pause for reflection, you’re weak.

If you enjoy your life slightly, you’re clearly doing ambition wrong.

Naturally, both extremes are a little ridiculous.

Waiting forever does nothing.

But running around like a caffeinated squirrel shouting about productivity doesn’t guarantee success either.

Reality tends to live somewhere in the boring middle.

Sometimes good things happen because you worked for them.

Sometimes they happen because you were lucky.

And sometimes they happen because someone else made a mistake and accidentally created an opportunity for you.

Life, as it turns out, is not a motivational poster.

There isn’t always a clear formula.

Still, the myth persists. People love the idea that patience alone brings rewards. It makes the universe sound fair and organized, like a queue system where everyone eventually gets their turn.

Unfortunately, life doesn’t run on queue numbers.

You can wait politely forever and still watch someone cut the line.

That’s not inspirational. It’s just reality.

So yes, patience has value. It prevents rash decisions and keeps people from setting fire to their careers during moments of frustration.

But patience without action is just delayed disappointment.

Good things rarely come to those who simply wait.

They come to people who try things, adjust when they fail, and occasionally get lucky while doing something productive.

Everyone else is still waiting.

And the universe, as usual, isn’t taking appointments.