Practicing Patience

Patience, or the ability to tolerate difficult or uncomfortable situations without getting angry or upset, is a healthy, valuable skill that has many benefits. Yet, patience contradicts our instincts; the instinct to satisfy our needs whenever we’re able to.

We are truly an “instant gratification” society, we want what we want, when we want it. Waiting means we won’t have what we want to…day. We may miss out on something we can experience now. We don’t want to wait for tomorrow.

Our need for immediate gratification fosters impatience. Impatience comes from having unrealistic expectations of the environment, other people, and of your own ability to learn new skills and control what goes on in your mind.

Patience isn’t something which comes naturally to us, it must be learned and practiced. One of the first steps toward learning patience is recognizing when you’re displaying impatient behavior. When we make a conscious choice to slow down the processes that are going on in our minds, wills and emotions, we begin to practice patience.

Those who master patience become more successful than those who can’t. They know that waiting for long term gratification is much better than accepting temporary instant gratification.

Being patient is really about having the inner strength to stick to your guns, face your fears, repeatedly let go of internal expectations, and have trust that it will all work out in the end.

By practicing patience on a regular basis, you’ll lower your overall stress and increase your health and happiness. You’ll also make fewer decisions based on negative emotions like anger, and you’ll be more empathetic and compassionate toward others…‪#‎perspectiveshift

Written by Frances Holinda