I used to watch Dawson’s Creek. If I am being honest, I was more of a Gilmore Girls viewer when The WB was at its peak. But I still checked in on Joey, Pacey, and Dawson to see where the relationships were headed. There was something compelling about watching young people wrestle with identity, ambition, and love as if every decision carried permanent weight. Teenagers on those shows seemed to have so much autonomy over their lives. They made bold choices. They said the dramatic thing out loud. They chased what they wanted, even when it complicated everything.
And every episode opened with “I Don’t Want to Wait” by Paula Cole. It was emotional and a little dramatic, but it captured that feeling of standing at the edge of your life and wanting it to begin.
Hearing that song now feels different.
Reading about the passing of James Van Der Beek is a reminder of how quickly time moves. The characters we watched grow up feel frozen in their twenties on screen, but the people behind them lived full, complicated lives beyond those roles. News like that has a way of interrupting your routine and forcing you to zoom out. It makes you more aware of how finite all of this really is.
It makes you ask whether you are fully present in your own story or simply waiting for the next milestone to arrive.
The Waiting Game in Cleared Careers
For cleared professionals, that tension can feel especially sharp. The national security workforce is not built on instant gratification. It is built on process, patience, and long timelines. You wait for investigations. You wait for contract awards. You wait for funding to clear. You wait for billets to open or leadership changes that may or may not create opportunity. It is easy to convince yourself that real life will begin once the next clearance adjudication comes through or once you land that role you have had your eye on for years.
But the heart of that song pushes back against that instinct. “I don’t want to wait for our lives to be over” is not really about impatience. It is about refusing to postpone joy, growth, and meaning until some undefined future.
Mid career professionals in national security often become intensely strategic. We think in terms of five year plans, certifications, pay bands, and promotion tracks. Those things matter. Stewarding your career well is part of the responsibility that comes with holding a clearance and serving in this space. But strategy without presence can quietly turn into drift.
Keep Pushing, At Every Age
I was recently listening to Amy Poehler interview Carol Burnett on an episode of Good Hang with Amy Poehler. Burnett is still working at 92 years old. Ninety two. I found myself genuinely amazed, not just at her longevity, but at her continued engagement with her craft. She was not talking like someone who had already done enough. She was still curious, still contributing, still showing up.
It was a needed reminder that pushing forward is not about chasing titles for the sake of it. It is about continuing to do the work you have the capacity to do, at whatever stage you are in. Whether you are early in your cleared career or decades into it, there is still room to learn, to mentor, to build, and to stretch. Age is not the limiter we sometimes imagine it to be. Capacity, mindset, and willingness often matter more.
Van Der Beek’s life and career carry a similar lesson in a different way. Beyond the character many of us associate him with, he continued to evolve, to work, and to show up even through personal and health challenges. That kind of perseverance is instructive. It reminds us that meaningful work is rarely a straight line and that impact is not measured only by the biggest credit on your résumé.
Presence Over Postponement
For those of us in national security, the question becomes less about how fast we can climb and more about how fully we are living in the roles we already hold. Are we investing in the teammates around us? Are we mentoring someone who is navigating their first clearance or job? Are we building skills because we are genuinely curious about the mission, not just because the market rewards it?
But at the same time, your personal life can’t be overlooked or put on hold either. Do not wait to care about your health until the contract recompete is over. Do not postpone family dinners because you assume there will always be another quarter to catch up. Do not delay pursuing the things that bring you joy because you are convinced the real payoff is always somewhere down the road.
Your career is important. But your life is unfolding at the same time.
So open up your morning light and step into the work in front of you with excellence. Remember that while clearances and contracts and executive orders and DOGE may shape your professional path, they should never define the fullness of your life.
