I've often joked that when they were handing out virtues in heaven, the line for patience was too long and I just couldn't be bothered to wait! Hey, I had to hurry up and be born already! I had an amazing life to get to living! (I was born a month early and have been going ever since!)
In life at times, being impatient has served me both well and, well, not so well.
I'm quick to make a decision. Sure I'll research all avenues to make sure its well thought out, but when the time comes, decision made. That has served me well in both life and business. When I decide to run a race, I submit the paperwork while charting out my training plan at the same time. I waste little time getting to "work".
The downside, is I hate waitting for things to happen. I like making them happen! But we don't always have that luxury. Sometimes we have to wait for others to make a decision. We have to wait for our training plans, our physical therapy, our healthy eating plans, to kick in to see results. But we're so conditioned to want things to come our way FAST. To have success, money, weight loss, six pack abs...yesterday!
The truth is, patience is something we can learn and practice, just like exercise and healthy eating. Some days are better than others. But working hard toward a goal, be it success, weightloss or six pack abs, is a process. Each step gets us closer to that goal. Each step teaches us something about ourselves and what we're willing to do to succeed. Each step begs the question: Continue along the new path, no matter how difficult and reap the rewards? Or continue doing the same thing you've been doing and get the same result?
Its a great question to ask when faced with a piece of chocolate cake, when you're frustrated with the number on the scale or spare tire around your middle. But will the cake "change" those things? Or will you feel worse after eating it? Would it be better to exercise the virtue of patience?
You see, great success, be it in business or in weightloss, is not about one step. Its about the culmination of many steps and the patience to see them through. To know that even though its taking more time, more effort, than you thought, you're on the right track. You're making progress. Change is happening. We just need to be more patient. The results will come!
I will never like waitting. I hate waitting in traffic. I hate waitting for an answer. I hate waitting for results. But that's life....and as the saying goes, "The best things are worth waitting for." So I'll do my best to practice patience. I may still get frustrated. I may still be impatient. But I'm working on it....and next time....I'll wait in line for that virtue the first time out!
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