Wait for it from Hamilton

Photo by Brandon Mowinkel on Unsplash

So, we have finally succumbed to the draw of having Disney Plus. I must admit, I’m quite looking forward to re-watching all the Star Wars films, and I might finally get around to watching the Marvel adventures. But one of the films our daughters we really excited for us to watch was Hamilton.

If you’ve not heard of it, Hamilton is a Broadway theatre production which has been filmed and released as an on-screen musical. The hip-hop production is inspired by the story of Alexander Hamilton, one of the less known founding fathers of America, and his rise to power from relative poverty. It has fast become the soundtrack to the summer in our car and provides some amazingly motivational lyrics (and beats!).

Take for example Wait fot it. In the musical, Aaron Burr has been reflecting on Alexander Hamilton’s success and concludes he will show patience. The song makes a point of differentiating this from doing nothing:

I’m not falling behind or running late … I am lying in wait.

It’s a useful insight. A number of years ago, there was a study undertaken in which correlative links were made between children’s ability to wait for sweets and their future success. This skill of delayed gratification was explored in the experiment by the child being left in a room with a sweet and told if they didn’t eat it, they would get more later. Now, whilst I think likelihood of ‘success’ has a social context in terms of opportunity and access to networks and resources, there is also this more personal element. The song puts it like this:

I am the one thing in life I can control.

I really like this concept, as there is so much we do not have control over, but we can always have control over ourselves, if we choose to exert it.

So, the first lesson I’m taking from the story of Hamilton this summer is that patience is not doing nothing, but rather waiting for the time to be right for me to thrive. And this is not falling behind, but simply learning to make the most of the present and all it offers.

Do you need some encouragement to move forward? Why not consider booking an appointment with the author, Dr Dave Wood?

Taken from the album Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)