Active-Patience

The word alone makes me uncomfortable and twitchy. No one likes to wait. I know I don’t. A perfect example is watching a kid at Christmas wait for their turn to open a gift. They hold it in their lap just trying not to tear into it. The desire to start tearing it apart and trying to hold that feeling back is like a meth-head looking for their next hit. It’s almost impossible to hold back. And in many times they don’t. They cave to the desire…the internal pressure they feel.

That’s a child. (Or a meth-head) They lack the ability to override that burning desire. They lack either brain maturity to do so or they have overridden that brain function with drugs or alcohol to internally say NO. As a child matures into a young adult their brain and emotional intelligence advances to a point that they form the mental discipline to develop patience. It’s a skill that’s learned. It can be practiced. It can be mastered in some cases.

Mastering patience in our lives has tremendous gifts that come with it. Patience allows for better relationships with the “stuck” people around us. Patience creates space for others to advance themselves (leadership). Patience gives us peace knowing the result will come with due time if we don’t force it. Patience realizes that your child will grow up at some point even when it doesn’t seem that way. Patience gives us the opportunity to grow ourselves and not beat ourselves up during the process. Patience gives us the ability to truly find a higher purpose in our lives without settling for what is right here and now.

Without patience we fall into what is easy or convenient in our lives. The truth is, I can tell you from experience, easy and convenient does not lead to what we truly desire. It will not help you at home, work or anywhere else. It leads to destruction.

From experience, something I have come to practice in the realm of patience is “active-patience”. To me patience is NOT about sitting around. Patience to me has a component of faith to it. I am waiting on something. I may not know what that something is but I have faith in “it”. I have faith that “it” is better than what is current. By actively preparing myself and my situation for “it”. I am practicing active-patience. This action brings me more peace. It brings me more excitement as well. I know that the more I prepare the readier I will be for the outcome that comes to pass. I will NOT miss it.

Success can be magnified by preparation. Preparation can be done during the time of patience. Practice active-patience in your life by becoming a better YOU daily, detached from the outcome. With this approach you will find joy in the state of patience. Patience ALWAYS wins.