Having a Little Patience Will Improve Your Life

How many times have you heard that patience is a virtue? Probably a ton. Now how many times have you actually thought about the phrase and tried to be more patient with the things around you?

Maybe you do this all the time, but if you don’t, here’s why you might want to start.

As a society, we are incredibly impatient. We want things done quickly. We don’t want to wait too long for our food, we want our cashiers to check us out fast, we want the cars in front of us to get a move on and we want commercial breaks to hurry up and be over. We want things now and we are quick to become irritable if something takes even a minute longer than expected. Why?

Think about it. How important is it that your food arrives immediately? Are terrible things going to happen if it doesn’t? Is your world somehow a worse place if it takes an extra five minutes?

Chances are the answers to these questions is a no.  So honestly, what’s wrong with a little extra wait?

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish. – John Quincy Adams

Why can’t we just learn to relax and take things as they are?

Who cares if the person in front of us on the road is a little slow? Perhaps they are nervous about driving and are trying to be extra cautious so as not to crash and hurt someone. We don’t know their circumstances so why get judgmental and upset at someone whose circumstances we don’t even know?

With impatience comes negativity. You aren’t happy when you are growing impatient with someone. You become stressed and aggravated, prone to making a jab at them and complaining to whomever will listen.

Then later you might tell someone else, reliving the whole annoying experience and prolonging the time you allow that negativity to live in your mind. Why do that? What is the point?

Practicing patience can do so much for your mood and your overall mental well-being. When we don’t allow little things to weigh on us so much we feel much more content with the world.

Nothing is ever going to be perfect. Things will go slower than you would like, people will get in the way, and on and on.

The world is not out to get you when checking out at the grocery store takes an extra ten minutes because the lines are too long.  All it means is that a lot of people are grocery shopping that day and you’re one of them, so why complain?  You’re holding up the person behind you, too.

He that can have patience can have what he will. -Benjamin Franklin

Take some to actively practice patience. When you feel yourself getting annoyed by something small take a few deep breaths and try to relax.  Ask yourself how important it is in the grand scheme of your life. Are you in danger?  Is you’re life going to be permanently affected?  Probably not.

Putting little annoyances up against big, real problems can really help you get some perspective. And when you allow yourself to relax and just let it go, you will be so much happier.