--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To wait means you are constantly…" description: "\"“To wait means you are constantly straddling two realities - the hoped-for outcome either happening, or not. Yes, or no. Yes, or no. You feel the pull ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/tanya-marlow-46119_future_to-wait-means-you-are-constantly-straddl_1428577.jpg" --- # To wait means you are constantly straddling two realities… ![“To wait means you are constantly straddling two realities - the hoped-for outcome either happening, or not. Yes, or no. Yes, or no. You feel the pull of both possibilities as you wait.” quote by Tanya Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/tanya-marlow-46119_future_to-wait-means-you-are-constantly-straddl_1428577.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/tanya-marlow-46119_future_to-wait-means-you-are-constantly-straddl_1428577.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bfd/tanya-marlow-46119_future_to-wait-means-you-are-constantly-straddl_1428577.jpg) > ““To wait means you are constantly straddling two realities - the hoped-for outcome either happening, or not. Yes, or no. Yes, or no. You feel the pull of both possibilities as you wait.”” [Tanya Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-marlow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Waiting splits attention between imagined outcomes, creating tension between hope and uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Waiting pulls you between two possible futures. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty while staying present. Themes patience uncertainty hope Mood contemplative tense Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - job interviews - medical test results - waiting for news Key Concepts psychology of anticipation mindfulness Questions to Reflect On - What does your mind focus on while waiting? - How can you use this tension productively? A Different Perspective Prolonged waiting can increase anxiety and indecision. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) ## Related quotes > [Sometimes writing has to be forced. In starting out, the shape and timbre and texture of what is to come is an uncertain chimera…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/sometimes-writing-has-to-be-forced-in-starting-out-the-shape-and/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [“Walking on a path of uncertainties, Shuffling on the probabilities of uncertainties, Waging on the possibilities of uncertainties, Waiting for the occurrences of uncertainties,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pushpa-rana/walking-on-a-path-of-uncertainties-shuffling-on-the-probabilities-of/) [Pushpa Rana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pushpa-rana/) > [The planets survival has become so uncertain that any effort, any thought that presupposes an assured future amounts to a mad gamble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-planets-survival-has-become-so-uncertain-that-any-effort-any/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [Life is too uncertain... You must seize happiness where you find it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deanna-raybourn/life-is-too-uncertain-you-must-seize-happiness-where-you-find-it/) [Deanna Raybourn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deanna-raybourn/) > [Remember, life is always uncertain. Everything dead is certain, life is always uncertain. Everything dead is solid, fixed - its nature cannot be changed;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-life-is-always-uncertain-everything-dead-is-certain-life-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [Of all the uncertain things marriage is the uncertainest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-maud-montgomery/of-all-the-uncertain-things-marriage-is-the-uncertainest/) [Lucy Maud Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-maud-montgomery/) > [Because a truly skeptical position would be a very uncertain one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-sheldrake/because-a-truly-skeptical-position-would-be-a-very-uncertain-one/) [Rupert Sheldrake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-sheldrake/) > [Bailey might not have great intelligence or abilities, but his whole aim, thought and study was that of the born leader--to look out for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gould-cozzens/bailey-might-not-have-great-intelligence-or-abilities-but-his-whole/) [James Gould Cozzens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gould-cozzens/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Since death is certain and the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pema-ch-dr-n/since-death-is-certain-and-the-time-of-death-is-uncertain-what-is-the/) [Pema Chodron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pema-ch-dr-n/) > [The planet's survival has become so uncertain that any effort, any thought that presupposes an assured future amounts to a mad gamble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-canetti/the-planet-s-survival-has-become-so-uncertain-that-any-effort-any/) [Elias Canetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-canetti/) > [“She's sure, absolutely sure, that what she's waiting for will happen, just the way she wants it to; and I'm so uncertain, so fearful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-lowry/she-s-sure-absolutely-sure-that-what-she-s-waiting-for-will-happen/) [Lois Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lois-lowry/) > [You imagine that I look back on my life's work with calm satisfaction. But from nearby it looks quite different. There is not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/you-imagine-that-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-work-with-calm-satisfaction/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) Brian Reade ## More by Tanya Marlow > [“To be in a long-term state of limbo, not knowing the outcome or length of time waiting, is utterly, shatteringly exhausting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-marlow/to-be-in-a-long-term-state-of-limbo-not-knowing-the-outcome-or-length/) [Tanya Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-marlow/) > [“In a period of extended waiting in life, it is all too easy to assume that something is wrong. We assume that 'something' is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tanya-marlow/in-a-period-of-extended-waiting-in-life-it-is-all-too-easy-to-assume/) [Tanya Marlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tanya-marlow/) > [“What about the claim, by the PACE trial, that Graded Exercise Therapy and CBT can treat ME? 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You're embarking on a new future, positioning yourself to write a fresh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adena-friedman/starting-a-new-job-can-be-nerve-racking-but-it-s-also-exciting-you-re/) [Adena Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adena-friedman/) [Browse all 12,349 Future quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To wait means you are constantly straddling two realities - the hoped-for outcome either happening, or not. Yes, or no. Yes, or no. 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