Patience: Can You Give Yourself This Special Gift?

Sometimes people think that the opposite of impatient activity is patient complacency.

So, instead of taking action and expecting instant results, they may suddenly find themselves patiently… doing nothing.

Why does this happen? Well, I think that it takes practice for humans to hold two opposing perspectives at the same time, such as the tension between a big vision and small steps.

However, let’s look at how to escape the trap of patience by practicing…

Patient activity means that we are active and patient at the same time. This obviously helps to avoid the pitfalls of impatient activity or patient complacency.

In reality, patience is completely compatible with activity. As Henry Latham described it:

“Patience is, in a sense, the simple recognition that things take time. That achieving greatness, creating a masterpiece — it all takes time. It takes an ability & willingness to be frustrated. To overcome difficulties. To persevere.”

If understood in this way, patience is the opposite of complacency.

I also learned about a concept (coined by Gary Vaynerchuk) that sounds like patient activity on steroids: micro speed, macro patience.

In his article, Gary points out that he moves super-fast on the execution level ( micro speed ), while also being incredibly patient on the global level ( macro patience ).

With all that being said, let's move on to...

Grab a pen and paper. 📝Then, take a moment to go through the following process.

(If you want to get the most out of this or if you're afraid of getting stuck, get the "Taking Action Worksheets" and begin by filling those out.)

• What's one area where you're being impatient, either with yourself or with others?
  For instance: "I'm impatient when it comes to tasks in my business. I expect them to take less time than they actually take."
  
  
• What does this impatience cost you?
  For instance: "It negatively affects my mood."
  
  
• Are there positive aspects to your impatience?
  For instance: "Not really. I'm not actually getting the tasks done any faster, I'm just feeling worse while I'm doing them."
  
  
• What would it look like if you were more patient in this area?
  For instance: "I would set more realistic deadlines. When deciding on a deadline, I would ask myself if this is actually doable or not."
  

If you feel stuck, give yourself the gift of patience.

Creating change is more like a marathon than a sprint. Don’t let this derail you! After all, change for the better generally takes time.

So, pick good goals, decide to be in it for the long haul, and stay on track. Also, allow yourself to see how far you have already come. To do that, think back to where you were a week or a month ago, and list all your little (and perhaps big) accomplishments since then.