Is a friend moaning to you about future events? You could tell them, "all good things come to those who wait," to ask them to have patience. This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.
Meaning
The proverbial expression "all go things come to those who wait" literally refers to advocating patience in a person. You can use it when talking to yourself or other people. The phrase means you should not want for future events but rather take things as they come to avoid frustration and disappointment. It also provides a way to tell a person to prevent building expectations of future events.
Example Usage
"Don't stress yourself out waiting for the vacation to arrive. All good things come to those who wait. It will be here soon enough. Just have some patience."
"Look, I'm not telling you to procrastinate, but all good things come to those who wait. Take a load off your mind and focus on the present, not the future."
"Didn't your grandma tell you good things come to those who wait? Relax and stop frothing about what's coming in the future. What will be, will be, and you can't make it arrive any sooner."
"My mom always tells me good things come to those who wait. Well, I've been waiting for years, and I still don't have a PS5."
"Someone once told me, 'good things come to those who wait.' I don't know where they heard that garbage, but waiting around for things to happen will get you nowhere in life."
"Sitting around on your butt will get you nowhere in life. That old adage of 'all good things come to those who wait' is nothing but nonsense. Get up and make things happen for yourself."
"What's with that saying, 'all good things come to those who wait?' It's just programming to make people lazy and unproductive."
Origin
The proverbial expression "all good things come to those who wait" originates from English poet Lady Mary Montgomerie Currie circa 1905. She would write under the pen name "Violet Fane" and penned the saying in her poem "Tout vient a qui sait attendre," where it reads as follows.'
"Ah, all things come to those who wait,'
(I say these words to make me glad),
But something answers soft and sad,
'They come, but often come too late."
While experts believe Currie was the original source of the expression, some dispute this origin. The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations dates the saying back to the early 16th century, but they fail to provide a source.
Phrases Similar to All Good Things Come to those Who Wait
- The best is yet to come.
- All things in time.
Phrases Opposite to All Good Things Come to those Who Wait
- Why wait?
- I can’t wait anymore.
What is the Correct Saying?
- All good things come to those that wait.
Ways People May Say All Good Things Come to those Who Wait Incorrectly
The phrase "all good things come to those that wait" refers to having patience in the face of Anticipation. It doesn't mean that waiting will necessarily bring you good things in your life, and it doesn't refer to procrastination.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase All Good Things Come to Those Who Wait
You can use the expression "all good things come to those who wait" to describe how people need to have patience in their life. It's a way of telling them to stop focusing on the future and let it be. The phrase suits social and professional situations.
Use it at home to tell your kids to have patience. The school summer vacation is around the corner, and wishing it to arrive won't make it happen any sooner. Use it at work to describe how your staff needs to focus on their work, and the sales will come. The phrase suits text-based communications and verbal exchanges.