The Power of Patience
You might have noticed that things don’t always happen when you want them to. Sometimes, in between wanting something to happen and the actual happening, you freak out.
Sometimes the freak-out is short and sweet. Sometimes, it lasts for days. After your panic attack or temper tantrum, you get a headache, or maybe a cold. Being sick for a few days slows things down, and the cycle happens all over again.
Then, the thing you have been waiting for, crying over, getting sick over, happens. It happens at the right time and you wonder what you were so worried about.
With time and patience you can…
- do it better
- enjoy the anticipation
- get a better deal
- make better connections
- enjoy a glass of wine
- work authentically
- take care
- save more money
- breathe
- feel better faster
Whether a life altering change, or attempt to simplify your closet, let go of your perfection, let go of your made up deadline, let go of the worry, and do what you need to do to make it happen, when it’s time.
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Thank you so much for this Courtney! I want things to happen yesterday, when in reality I am not ready for them to. I need to be patient and take things at the rate they are supposed to happen!
Bernice
A break from our regularly scheduled programming…
Bernice, I always realize that I wasn’t ready when I thought I was. I’m typically so grateful for the extra time.
So very true, but a reminder is always welcome
“let go of your perfection, let go of your made up deadline, let go of the worry, and do what you need to do to make it happen, when it’s time”.
That particularly resonates with me. The more I grow, the more I realise that perfectionism only hinders progress.
Thanks for sharing.
Cristina, I think perfection stops us from starting or from truly enjoying the process.
All of what you are saying here is so true. I worry a lot, and get very anxious when things don’t happen as soon as I want them too. I work on my patience by writing in a journal whenever I feel anxious and want to panic. I just open up 750words.com, and I shrink the page so the font is too small for me to read, and I write until I feel better. Just a little advice for anyone who feels like I do sometimes
Pandora, What a healthy way to calm anxiety. I’ve actually signed up for 750words.com but find that most of my writing attention is focused here. At some point, I want to check it out again and get into that daily habit.
That’s understandable that you don’t use 750words because you are already writing. If you find blogging therapeutic, then you don’t need 750words do you?
I am laughing out loud (at myself)! I signed up for 750words. Emails from them kept telling me I was I was sliding lower and lower to the bottom. I finally spammed the emails!
We’re iced in here in North Texas, a situation that does indeed require some patience. While there are places I’d like to go and things I’d like to do out in the big, wide world, there’s plenty to do here, and I’m getting a lot of it done.
All the other things I NEED to do are really made up tasks and unreal obligations. Today, I’m focusing on having a nice day doing only the things I want to do.
Gip
Gip, I love that. Stay warm and safe!
When I quit my day job to start my own business, it didn’t go to plan. I started to get concerned, started to worry. Fate (as always) intervened. I spent time worrying about something that didn’t happen – what a waste. My most valuable commodity ‘time’ was wasted. All I needed was to bide my time a little, success does not come overnight and if it does I would be cautious of what foundations it is built on and the longevity. Anything worth having is worth waiting for.
Jo, Great point. Build a solid foundation first! Your persistance and hard work paid off.
Good advice. It is funny how going with the flow can be more productive than trying to make things happen.
Keishua, sometimes it’s really hard to let go of how we think things SHOULD be. Usually, when we give our projects and passions room and time to grow, they do.
Ahhh, patience. It’s such a great thing when we have it but losing it can be tough! I like when you said “let go of the worry, and do what you need to do to make it happen, when it’s time.” – this is a great thing to remember, letting go of the worry. Thank you!
Lori
Lori, Who has time for worry?
Lovely post, Courtney!
Patience is the key ingredient to starting and maintaining new habits. Too often, people think change hasn’t worked because it takes so long to arrive.
Mary, That is so true and applies to so many different things. Unlike slow, deliberate change, immediate gratification is not always long lasting or life changing.
Your blog always reminds me of that.
Thanks for sharing. Living in Mexico has made us fully aware that we need to slow down. It’s funny when Americans bring and try to impose their way down here, their projects never turn out right. Something to be said for leaving things for manaña
Saludos,
Luis
Leaving things for manaña is one of the reasons I love to spend time in Mexico, and why I look forward to spending extended periods of time there in the future. (One of many reasons).
Luis – thanks for your comment.
Thanks for this post about patience. I’m extremely patient with the small stuff – playing with my two year old, looking for a car park, or standing in line at the supermarket, but I’m a shocker for wanting the ‘big’ things to happen right NOW!
I’ve put a lot of effort into the last six months practising meditation and living in the moment. This has improved my patience by helping me maintain some equilibrium, i.e. I can’t get anxious and stressed out the future if I’m not thinking about it.
It’s good to be reminded though!
Ann, In practicing meditation and yoga, I’ve learned that you can really only think one thought at a time. Staying with that thought really does prevent “future thinking” and worry.
Courtney,
Patience is such a treasure! You point out all the benefits. What a great topic for a post given it’s so “counter-culture.” I’ve always loved the saying, “You can’t push the river. It flows by itself.”
Sandra, Thanks for sharing that. Just reading it made me feel really calm.
I can sure relate to this one. I hit a proverbial brick wall 5 years ago and I was essentially out of commission for 2 years with Major Depression. That gave me lots of time to think about what I truly wanted in life. Which brings me to now, living the life I want!
Marnie = Glad you are feeling better. Sometimes it takes a really loud wake up call like illness turn your life around.
I am so happy I found your website. I knew if I were patient enough the right website would come along!
Sharry, Glad you found me too!
Courtney,
Thanks for this reminder. I’m not a patient person, but I’m learning that if I allow things to go slow (accept that they are going slow) I have enough time to tweak and edit and change things enough so when the product is finally ready, it’s 1000 times better than it would have been had I not had that time.
As for waiting for other things, more posts on this please! Oh, and I would substitute a glass of port for the glass of wine!
Lori, I don’t think I am sophisticated enough for Port.
Would love your suggestions on what other things you wait for. Email me anytime bemorewithless@gmail.com
Ha Ha , you make me sound more sophisticated than I am (THANKS!) I buy this wonderful port from a German wine-making business at our local market. Just one glass puts me to sleep, I’m not that much of a drinker. What I like, beside the taste, is that it keeps in the cupboard for a long time, unlike wine which must be consumed once its opened!
But I digress. What do I wait for? Projects to develop, most recently, my new blog; finding my voice, recipe, building a community around it. I’m also working on the manuscript for a book I hope to publish soon. It is taking a while, but it needs every bit of time I give it. Even though it was written months ago, I’m still tweaking and adding to it in the editing. As I said, now that I value the process more, I’ve become a more patient person!
Thanks for reminding me of the port – it’s Friday night – I think I’ll see if there is a glass left in the bottle!
This reminds me of a quote I had on my wall at university: How long the road is, but for all the time the journey has already taken, how we have needed every second of it in order to learn what the road passes by.” (from memory – just don’t have an author for it!) Take care Courtney, nice to meet you.
Boy I’ve had to learn this one Courtney! But patience is more than worth it. All things come to those who wait comes to mind but mostly patience frees you from the exhausting need to solve, think, and fix. Trust is a must and when it’s best to rest and let things be then take it. Patience isn’t a virtue it’s a wisdom.
John, Your comments always bring something new to the table. “Patience frees you from the exhausting need to solve, think, and fix.” Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you.
I love how you get to the heart of things. You are one of my favorite inspirational authors, both here and at Getting to God.
It is so important to learn something from every experience, even if it is a time when you must learn to practice more patience, or perhaps that you learn to do something different, something better, etc.
Patience allows things to happen at the right, enables one to make the right choice