Patience is a virtue do you have it?
Patience is a virtue do you have it?
We’ve heard it a million times before…’patience is a virtue’. It’s clear to me that very few of us possess this skill. I certainly don’t. It’s something we learn to do over time, I’m starting to be good at it, but historically it’s been my weakest area.
I want things now. I do everything now, why can’t everyone else!?
Being successful requires demonstrating a level of patience. Whether it’s family issues, business negotiations or aiming towards your goals – be they losing weight, getting that promotion or anything else….typically you need to be patient and we live in a very instant-gratification world so this can sometimes jar.
I am learning slowly (you see, I’m being patient already) that being patient does come with advantages. It’s a habit just like impatience was a habit to me, and something I’ve had to re-train & re-learn to be the polar opposite. Frustration is the emotional energy which drives ‘quitting’. I’ve done that a lot.
Changing habit requires strong motivation and as I become more confident than I ever have in who I am, my ability & capability & how I rank myself amongst peers, being patient is becoming somewhat easier.
Being patient has allowed me to take my time and plan. To make clear decisions & to not jump into a fiery pit of misery or bad decision making. I look to others who I rate and see what they do, and I have learnt that being patient is very much a virtue. Its gritty. Reputations are built on it. One of the biggest thing I’ve learnt is being patience brings excellence. Talent is after all long-earned patience. I look at my own side business, and think how well it’s come on seemingly over the last 6 months, sometimes forgetting I’ve actually been building it for a decade.
Being a great leader through exercising patience.
I strive to be a great leader. Reading Forbes 5 powerful ways leaders practice patience really inspires me. You should read it.
So what does all this mean for me as I bolt head first into 2017? Well, I’ve learnt to be more patient. I still love tipping the bathwater out with the baby, because sometimes the baths’s a bit crap, or even the baby. My inextricable link to impatience and stress is something I’ve worked hard to solve.
Because of my more patient new self, I feel a lot less stressed.
The psychology of patience is something which has interested me and there’s a great article here from Psychology Today on the four steps to developing patience from Dr jane Bolton. Check it out
Wikihow has a quite decent article here on spotting whether your impatient & then overcoming it so I’ll leave you with that, it’s a good read.
