“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”
There are situations in life when you just need to wait. You have to wait for things to mature, for people to decide, for situations to develop. Growing your patience can provide many different gains for your life.
To understand the benefits of patience, let’s consider what happens when you lack it. Impatience can make you stress out over things beyond your control. You will have a tough time with any situation that requires some waiting, and there are plenty of those even in the modern, digital, and fast world.
The second problem is that it can make you act out. You might try to rush something that can’t be rushed, speak from a place of frustration, or do things before they’re ready. This can affect your relationships with others, hurt your reputation, lead you to unwise decisions. If you act too soon, it won’t always lead to positive results.
It’s easy enough to see why patience can be a virtue. But how can you cultivate this virtue in your daily life?
First, learn how to distract yourself. One of the best ways to deal with waiting is through distracting yourself successfully. This means, on one hand, finding activities, books, shows, games, and so on that helps you keep busy. Don’t leave it at a single activity, instead, try to cultivate many different opportunities to try things and have a whole toolbox of distractions ready to go.
Distractions are a tool to support your patience and get you through difficult moments. However, you also need to work with your mindset.
There are different causes for impatience. Often, it’s that we feel we should be getting things sooner. If you allow yourself to step outside of this idea, it will be easier to cope with impatience. If you can understand your frustration, you can manage it more successfully.
Often, impatience comes hand-in-hand with anxiety. We can’t stop worrying, so we want things to be done to stop worrying. Learn to manage your anxiety. You can practice breathing and relaxation techniques, meditate, or work with the thoughts that bring you so much concern. Addressing anxiety will reduce your impatience, as it comes as a consequence.
Overall, patience will help you face many challenges with grace and serenity. It will help you feel less stressed and less anguished. It is a virtue that can work for you in many situation, so it’s worth nurturing.
