I am not a patient person. My husband will attest to that. I want things to work now; as soon as I put my mind to it, it should show up. We all know life doesn’t work that way, which is why I will attempt to cultivate some patience.
The definition of patience is – the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
It is also important to think about patience’s antonyms: impatience can look like frustration, laziness, resistance, and fear.
I’m impatient with:
- People who aren’t doing their job. (frustration)
- Having to stay home because of COVID-19. (fear and resistance)
- Results of any weight loss plan I try. (laziness)
- People who don’t get back to me in a “reasonable” amount of time. (frustration)
- My husband, when he doesn’t read my mind and know what I want. (that’s probably just marriage in general:)
In the fast-paced world of today, we are impatient when:
- A website takes more than 5 seconds to load.
- We don’t get our Amazon or mail package in a day.
- Our wrinkles don’t immediately disappear with a new cream we bought.
- Someone doesn’t answer a text.
But why are we in such a hurry?
Cultivating patience is so important for a lot of reasons.
Success takes time. You have to put in the work and learn along the way. The way you originally thought would make you successful may not turn out to be what gets you there. Don’t try to take the easy way out and call it done.
Impatience breeds stress. When you are impatient, it usually means you are creating stress on yourself to make something happen that you have no control over.
Stress is bad for your health. According to the Mayo Clinic, left unchecked stress can contribute to many health problems such as high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Patience creates persistence. If you know you have to continue to work towards something to be successful, you can build up the stamina to keep going.
It makes you more empathetic. Try being patient with others and accept them as they are. Do not get angry just because someone else is not behaving as you would. Everyone has their own story, and you don’t always know what that is.
Download 4 sets of affirmations to continue to cultivate patience and confidence in your life.
Back to learning how to cultivate patience.
Here are a few tips:
Focus on short-term goals to get to your big goals.
Find some success every day with your smaller goals to not become impatient with the big ones. In weight loss, it might be losing any amount of weight every day, even if it is .1 pounds.
Breathe before you react.
Become aware of when you are getting impatient with someone, and then take a deep breath to calm yourself down before you react. Just that one moment can stop you from overreacting.
Notice what you are learning.
If something is taking more time than you want it to, take a moment to reflect on what that might be teaching you. Is there something you haven’t done? Are you lazy? Is there another path?
Stop and smell the roses.
This is another reminder to live in the moment. Stop worrying about the future. When you dwell on or complain about things out of your control, you lose sight of all of the beautiful things happening around you.
Trust the journey.
What might you miss out on if you didn’t wait? We are alive to live our lives and have adventures and fun along the way. Be open to other possibilities that might pop up for you, and trust that the Universe is always on your side.
So, how can you practically apply these techniques to your life?
If someone is taking too long in the check-out lane, take a moment to assess what that person may be dealing with. Is it really a big deal you have to wait 2 more minutes? Can you use the time to check a text or email?
When you send a text or email and do not get an immediate response, walk away and do something else. On the other end, the person may actually be busy doing something else or isn’t on their phone 24/7. If you really need to get a hold of them, take responsibility for picking up the phone and call them.
You know you can’t read minds, so you know your partner can’t either. If you start to get impatient because they are not doing something for you, you might have to speak up or do it yourself.
I am getting impatient with staying home right now during the pandemic, but I also know it is the right thing to do. Instead of stressing, I find ways to spend my time more productively like, reading, learning more for my business, doing art projects, and writing.
When you get impatient with something taking too much time, stop to find some appreciation and gratitude for all you already have.
Cultivating patience is a lifelong spiritual practice. When you can exercise patience, you are taking back control over the situation. When you can stay calm and centered, all areas of your life will improve.
My word of the year is discipline, and I will apply it to be patient when things don’t happen as fast as I want them to. I will continue to do the work necessary to remain calm, take back my power, and reach my goals.
Where do you need to cultivate more patience in your life?
For a little more inspiration, here are a few motivational and wisdom-filled patience quotes.
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures.” – Lao Tzu
“The more you know yourself, the more patience you have for what you see in others.” – Erik Erikson
“The keys to patience are acceptance and faith. Accept things as they are and look realistically at the world around you. Have faith in yourself and in the direction you have chosen.” – Ralph Marston
“Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday.” – A.A. Milne
“Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.” – Roy T. Bennett
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.” – David G. Allen
“With love and patience, nothing is impossible.” – Daisaku Ikeda
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” – Joyce Meyers
“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” – St. Augustine
“One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life” ~ Chinese Proverb
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Love this post Laurie!! Patience is something I need to work on too!!
Thanks, Barb! There seems to be a lot going on to require more patience these days.
Patience is clearly so important. I know it’s definitely something that I need to work on because I’m prone to getting frustrated with people at times (especially when they are not doing something properly). It definitely makes you more stressed and is something everyone should try and control more to protect their mental health.
Great point Ruth. Thank you for commenting!