How To Be Patient

and Achieve Your Goals

by Laura Interval

Is it difficult for you to be patient? How does that word make you feel…. Patience? For some, it conjures up anxiety… just thinking about having to WAIT in line, or calm yourself down in a situation out of your control. For others it means you’re not going to get what you want right away. You will have to wait… and then, who knows?

Being patient is still not one of my strong qualities. But, I believe it is an extremely important aspect of getting what you want in your life. To better achieve your goals, you need to understand it; to master it. As they say “good things come to those who wait”.

In the past, patience was a problem for me. I like that I can chat with my friend in Italy, check my bank account, heat up my lunch and buy my Mom’s birthday present in the next 15 minutes. I spent the last 20 years in a business where my longest project started and finished in a matter of 4 months… and most of my work was finished in a matter of weeks if not days. I like when it begins, middles and ends quickly. Looking back now, I realize that I became used to instant gratification and lost interest if I didn’t feel swift forward movement. If something seemed slow or stagnant to me, I would usually just quit or put my energy towards the next thing. That explains all of the half done projects in my closet… the knitting needles with a few wonky loops of yarn attached, the various half listened to “how to” cds, and the outline of my first best selling novel.

Years of good intentions put on the back burner because of the lack of immediate results. I didn’t want to do anything that I couldn’t do well the first or second attempt. I had very little patience with what I thought was mediocrity… very little patience, it turns out, with myself.

Here’s the beautiful thing. Patience… is something you can GET. You can learn patience, you can understand patience, you can gain patience… but, you may have to be patient in the process.

Here are a few ways and reasons to get patience:

1. Determine the importance of your goal.
How much do you want it in your life? What does it mean to you? How will you feel if in 5 years, you still don’t have it because you gave up on it? How will you feel if you achieve it? Make a conscious decision and if it is worth it, remind yourself everyday to be patient as you pursue it.

2. Determine why you are in a hurry.
Is there an actual deadline or are you being hard on yourself? Remind yourself that you do not need it now… you are working towards it and will have it in good time.

3. Focus on the matter at hand.
If you are learning something, clear your mind and give it your full attention. Don’t let emotion or judgment come in on you. Focus on the task and enjoy the process. Remind yourself that you are doing this to achieve your goal and everyday you are getting closer.

4. Do not expect too much too soon.
Don’t set yourself up for failure. Give yourself reasonable time to learn something new or achieve a new level. Set short term realistic goals. For example, dedicate 1 hour a day or a week to your task, without expectation of the outcome. Know that just focusing for that hour is enough!

5. Congratulate yourself after every session and allow yourself to feel closer to achieving your goal.
Every time you focus your energy towards it, you get closer.

6. Remind yourself to have fun in the process!
Enjoy the process of learning something new! Being a “beginner” can be unique and exciting.

They say patience is a virtue, but more importantly it’s really a necessity. It’s the little brother to persistence. Persistence takes patience… and one must persist at being patient! With both, you will achieve your goals.

While researching “patience”, I found several interesting definitions:

– the ability to endure suffering

-a minor form of despair disguised as a virtue (from 1911)

-constancy in effort

In order to be patient, one must be constant in one’s effort . . . whatever that effort is. There are only so many half finished ideas or projects a closet can take before you realize that if you’d just persisted … if you were patient with one idea… you’d have achieved it by now.

So become patient… right now!

related articles:

Persistence

The Importance of Declaring Intention

Wishful Believing



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