I was often told by my mother growing up that patience is a virtue. The older I get and the more life I live, the more fully I understand how correct she was. Patience involves acceptance and tolerance with situations that otherwise would make us upset, angry, annoyed or irritated.
Calling patience a virtue makes it seem like you either have it or you don’t. I believe that these values do not come naturally to us, and must be learned and then practiced. The more we use these skills, the stronger they grow. Practicing patience has the added benefits of building empathy toward others and becoming a more humble person.
There are many situations where our approach to them can help us practice patience:
Dreams Coming True – As many of you know, I am a big dreamer and encourage people daily to dream. Once we let ourselves look ahead in this way, we must remember that to achieve what we envision takes work. Therefore, patience is an important component of dreaming.
Patience With Ourselves – Life can be hard and complicated, with long days, missed opportunities, and tough situations. We can practice patience with ourselves in how we manage life’s tribulations, working thoughtfully through the process and giving ourselves a pass every now and then.
Patience With Our Families – Often the people we love and are loved by the most are taken for granted and given the least amount of patience and tolerance. Placing them first will bring many rewards.
Patience With Our Prayers and God – As we ask for specific outcomes, we must remember that our prayers and God often are answered in ways that we do not expect and not on our timetable. I encourage you to continue to pray and be patient; God is a good listener.
Patience In Business – In my experience, taking time to fully listen and be patient in business negotiations and transactions usually leads to a better outcome.
Patience Driving A Car – Maybe it’s a student driver, maybe it’s someone that has lost their sharpness and reaction time and wants to be careful for themselves and our benefit, or maybe it’s someone just having a really bad day. We have no idea what is going on in the lives of the people around us; cut other drivers some slack and your stress level too.
The following are some quotes from others regarding patience that I enjoyed:
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things happen in an order different than the one you have in your mind”
“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting”
“Patience was one of three greatest treasures to have, along with compassion and simplicity”
“Patience is the companion of wisdom”
“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time”
“Patience with others is love, patience with our self is hope, patience with God is faith”
Patience is a difficult quality to cultivate, particularly in today’s busy, instantaneous world. Cultivation of long-term patience requires us to form good habits. The benefit of this work includes a delay in our need for instant gratification. Develop and practice patience, it will serve you and those around you well.
