---
title: "Waiting is No"
id: "4629"
type: "post"
slug: "waiting"
published_at: "2014-10-27T12:58:46+00:00"
modified_at: "2022-06-23T03:10:39+00:00"
url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/waiting/"
markdown_url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/waiting.md"
excerpt: "More from Die Empty by Todd Henry (page 95), Waiting in some form is inevitable, but it can also become a habit, a form of abdication. An excuse. It’s easier to blame someone else for our failure to act than......"
taxonomy_category:
  - "Productivity"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "Die Empty"
  - "Todd Henry"
---

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# [Waiting is No](https://johnpoelstra.com/waiting/)

More from [Die Empty by Todd Henry](http://www.amazon.com/Die-Empty-Unleash-Your-Every-ebook/dp/B00AEBEWMC/)
 (page 95),

> Waiting in some form is inevitable, but it can also become a habit, a form of abdication. An excuse. It’s easier to blame someone else for our failure to act than to face the deeper source of our inaction. Waiting is a less risking form of “no.”

Waiting can also be procrastination. I like Henry’s observation that inaction is a form of saying “no.” And of course the other side of this is that waiting can be a good thing and appropriate for the circumstances. I suppose the critical part here is knowing which situations need “waiting” and which ones need “action.”

Here’s a little bonus that kind of ties in from page 97,

> If you could snap your fingers and change one thing right now, what would it be? I challenge you not to think about contingencies and limitations, but instead to think of growth opportunities. You must own your own growth and take responsibility for your own progress.

#### John Poelstra

John Poelstra coaches directors in finance and software. Trained through the Co-Active Training Institute, he has coached for more than 10 years, with over 520 clients and 3,150 sessions, including people at well-known Fortune 100 companies. In over 30 years of professional experience, he spent 25 in technology and finance: software testing, project management and team leadership at Red Hat and Dell/EMC, and finance as a bank auditor at Wells Fargo and a CPA at Grant Thornton. He hosts The John Poelstra Show podcast and is based in Portland, Oregon.

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October 27, 2014

[Productivity](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/productivity/)

[Die Empty](https://johnpoelstra.com/tag/die-empty/)
, [Todd Henry](https://johnpoelstra.com/tag/todd-henry/)

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