Weekly newsletter
I. Prompts for motivation
Is there someone in your life who manages their daily tasks and responsibilities with a sense of calm and steadiness? What kinds of habits or practices do you think someone like that does in order to maintain a high level of patience?
Do you often find yourself in situations where you are waiting for something that you would like to happen faster than the way it is currently moving? In which areas can you benefit from practicing delayed gratification now and then?
II. Thoughts for intention
Patience is a tool that provides us with a healthy approach to life. When we stay patient in the middle of something that is causing us stress, we give ourselves the greatest chance of handling the situation with a clearer state of mind. It calms our nerves and allows us to remember the difference between what we can and cannot control. This strengthens our resilience and resolve. It stops us from spiraling into self-doubt and frustration. Instead, staying patient keeps our well-being intact since we are not allowing negativity to swallow us in a temporary moment.
While our technological advances provide us with a variety of things, one of the negative impacts they can cause is our desire for instant gratification. This is harmful because when we get used to the immediacy of things such as communication, food, entertainment, and more, it becomes natural to develop high expectations for any of our experiences. With big expectations, we can develop greater impatience when what we anticipate does not match up to how things regularly work for us. In consequence, our level of patience plummets.
III. Ideas for preparation
In order to rise above any growing dissatisfaction, we can take a second to pause and slow down to reassess the situation. This is where we reframe what is actually happening instead of getting stuck in a loop of exasperation in our heads. Take some time to notice at least one benefit in the predicament you face, one that you can use to your advantage. Meditate on this one opportunity you find so that you can flip the script and transform your circumstance from a negative to a positive one. As soon as you do so, you can learn to rely on this empowering method that you can always use across the board.
Patience is a virtue. Which means that the desire to satisfy any longing will remain a lifelong challenge for all of us. But it’s been proven again and again that delayed gratification is a behavior we can adapt through practice using daily habits and structure. We navigate the tension that comes from discomfort when we train ourselves to relax in complex environments every now and then. Which means that we can resist the urge to scratch an itch by going for the immediate fix. By getting curious about what the difficulty has to teach us, we are gradually building self-control and discipline in the process.
IV. Quotes for inspiration
“There is one more piece of advice I have for you: don’t get impatient. Even if things are so tangled up you can’t do anything, don’t get desperate or blow a fuse and start yanking on one particular thread before it’s ready to come undone. You have to realize it’s going to be a long process and you’ll work on things slowly, one at a time.”
― Haruki Murakami, Norwegian Wood
“Water does not resist. Water flows. When you plunge your hand into it, all you feel is a caress. Water is not a solid wall, it will not stop you. But water always goes where it wants to go, and nothing in the end can stand against it. Water is patient. Dripping water wears away a stone. Remember that, my child. Remember you are half water. If you can’t go through an obstacle, go around it. Water does.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Penelopiad
