Improving patience is a life-long struggle

Jennifer Goble
Mental Health Matters

My sister, who has leukemia, is waiting for her white blood count to come up so she can go home for a few weeks before receiving a bone marrow transplant.

My niece and sister-in-law are both waiting for someone to buy their homes so they can move and buy another house.

We are all waiting for the presidential election to determine who leads us for the next four years.

A good friend of mine is waiting for the love of her life.

I am waiting for my designer to finish the revamp on my website.

Life takes patience. Patience is a virtue, and virtue is behavior showing high moral standards. An anonymous author reiterates, “Patience is not about how long someone can wait. It’s about how well they behave while they wait.”

I have been witness to some poor behavior while driving, waiting at the checkout counter, and watching political debates.

Patience is a virtue under-developed by some.

I have also been guilty of the same poor behavior. Margaret Thatcher spoke for me when she said, “I am extraordinarily patient, provided I get my own way in the end.”

I am not perfect and neither are you. We are human, and try as we may, our fuse can be short.

Improved patience is a lifelong goal and struggle for most of us. We consciously or unconsciously develop patience skills; think of something else, do something else, or avoid situations that trigger impatience.

Simply, if we hone our patience, we improve our ability to make sound decisions, build healthier relationships, and maintain a positive self-image.

It is hard to see ourselves as quality individuals if we behave immaturely because something does not happen in our timeline.

So, think about yourself and your own patient competency. We all have the ability to shift our thoughts and deflate frustrating situations – if we want to.

Practice improves our odds, and the holidays give us great opportunity to practice.

Closing with two anonymous quotes:

“Patience is the ability to count down before you blast off.”

“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting – that is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow – that is patience.”

Until the next time: Live while you live!

(Jennifer Goble, Ph.D. is a Licensed Professional Coun-selor. Check out her book, My Clients…My Teachers and her weekly blog at www.jennifergoble.com.)

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