4 Ways to Build Patience

Impatience will set you back in more ways than one.

Patience is a virtue that can be challenging for those of us who are impulsive or impatient. It’s an important quality of self-control essential to living a peaceful, happy life. But it’s also crucial to success in almost any area of life.

To truly understand patience, we first must define its opposite — impatience. Patience is the ability to accept something unpleasant or painful as it unfolds, not rush into doing something about it right away, and then regret that we acted too quickly later.

Impatience, however, will get you nowhere fast. It is the tendency to want something sooner rather than later, no matter how much harm this might cause you in the long run. For example, rushing into a relationship with someone you barely know because you want someone now. Wouldn’t it be better to wait for the person you love?

An Example of Impatience

As an illustration of impatience at its worst, take Gypsy. I was eating my dinner this evening. She always sits at my feet, waiting for her portion (she’d rather have the whole thing, of course). Suddenly, she jumped up on my recliner with her front feet. Right away, I told her, “No, patience is a virtue. You must wait.

Why Is Patience So Important?

Patience is one of those qualities we often take for granted, but without it, we would have very little success. It is important to remember that we achieve great things through patience, not through impulsiveness.

The same applies to almost everything in our lives — we may not succeed instantly, but we will succeed at some time. Successful people are not impatient but patient. Humans are naturally impatient (I’m a prime example); we have an innate need to move forward quickly.

We all want immediate gratification and are often driven by the “now” mentality. If you want to achieve anything in life, there is one thing you need to understand and embrace — you will not achieve success overnight. There is no quick fix, no magic pill, and no shortcut. Theodore Roosevelt reportedly said that the most significant measure of success is not the achievement of our aims, but improving the common welfare. So, patience is very much in your self-interest.

How to Develop Patience

Developing patience is a process that we start with ourselves. Yes, that means you and me. No one can do it for you. You have to do it yourself. You must understand that patience is a choice, and no one but you can decide to be patient. Try to think of your current situation as a temporary state, not a permanent one. The sooner you accept this, the sooner you can hold on to your patience.

4 Ways to Build Patience

1. Focus on Accepting the Now. When we are impatient, we tend to want things to change immediately. But to be patient, we must accept where we are right now.

2. Acknowledge your Limitations. When you are impatient, you think of yourself as “incompetent” and “not good enough.” But to be patient, you must acknowledge your limitations and those of others. The first step is to begin acknowledging your own mistakes.

3. Think of Mistakes as Lessons — When we are impatient, we think of mistakes as “failures.” But in reality, mistakes are opportunities to learn and grow.

4. Accept Help When You Need It — We tend to want to do things ourselves when we are impatient. But to be patient, you must accept help when needed.

Conclusion

Remember what I said in the beginning? Patience is a virtue. As you can see, patience is an essential quality many struggle with. But it’s not too late to start practicing patience. You can begin by acknowledging the things you have now without complaining about the ones you don’t have.

You can also try to understand that every situation has a reason behind it and accept it for what it is. If you want to learn patience and become more patient, you can read books on the subject, listen to podcasts, or watch videos on YouTube.

Don’t be like Gypsy, wanting to jump into something without considering the consequences of what can happen. You can do this by accepting the now, acknowledging your limitations, thinking of mistakes as opportunities, and asking for help when needed.