How to Develop Patience for Your Personal Productivity

HOW would you describe yourself; a patient or an impatient person? I can be impatient I must admit. On a general note, have you noticed that it seems like everything nowadays is fast and instant, what some call the ‘World of Instant Gratification’; instant coffee, instant messages via email and fax, instant education via online colleges, instant banking and so on. One is therefore tempted to ask, why wait in a world that literarily offers everything instantly? Reports say that it is now more difficult to be patient than at any other time in history.

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The popular saying that ‘the patient dog eats the fattest bone’ seems to be replaced with the saying that ‘the patient dog eats no bone at all’. It would seem that some people have tried to lie to my generation that you can get all things now, that waiting is old fashioned and unnecessary. Is patience still a virtue?

But what is patience if one may ask? Sharing thoughts from Essential Life Skills, patience is defined as, “the ability to tolerate waiting, delay, or frustration without becoming agitated or upset. It's the ability to be able to control your emotions or impulses and proceed calmly when faced with difficulties”.

Continuing with Essential Life Skills, “anything worthwhile and of importance cannot take place right away. It takes time, dedication and effort to achieve; so even in this day and age, patience is a virtue”.

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Patience is a character trait you can develop just like impatience is a habit you learned and can unlearn. Patience is key to achieving monumental and lasting success. Translated, patience may also means you add time (hours, days or even years) as you wait. This is something that makes patience unattractive. But remember that nothing worthwhile is achieved right away. You may want to check all the world’s most successful and influential people, and their success stories.

Benefits of Patience

What are some personal benefits of patience in this fast-paced world? Let’s look at some benefits.

·       Being patient reduces stress levels and makes you a happier, healthier person. It helps you control your emotions.

·       Being patient makes you better at decision-making. Do you never want to regret your decisions, then I encourage you to learn patience before taking decisions.

·       Patience helps you develop understanding, empathy and compassion.

·       Patient people take the time to process what they go through and are more understanding of others.

Developing Patience

·       Learn how to be slow to speak and fast to think, in other words practice thinking before speaking. You may also take a day where you make patience your goal for the entire day.

·       Learn how to delay gratification, or pleasure, no matter how deserved it may be.

·       Make a concerted effort to take your time and think about everything you do. Start today.

·       Learn to calm down. I have a personal motto which says, ‘heaven cannot fall’, after all it has never. This helps me calm down.

·       Learn to appreciate that people are at different levels of life and understanding, so may not meet up with your pace and expectations. This is especially important for “perfectionists”. It’s sad I know.

·       Develop your patience level by simple practice and sheer determination.

Remember that anything worthwhile and of importance cannot take place right away. It takes time, dedication and effort to achieve. It takes patience. At the end of it all, you benefit, I benefit, everyone benefits.

In your success journey, what insights have you acquired or tips you would like to share? Please share with us. I would like to hear from you. Your feedback is valued.

Also kindly encourage your friends to visit this blog www.iamchukwuemeka.blogspot.com for motivational and inspirational pieces. You may never know how it can benefit them.

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