The Power of Patience
I like this quote because it allows us to look a little deeper into something that we do every day and make it more meaningful. I mean, isn’t it fair to say that we will find ourselves waiting on something or someone at some point in the future? And, isn’t it also fair to say that in the past some of these times of waiting may have been times of boredom or frustration?
If so, I suggest that we become more purposeful in how we want to spend this time as we go forward. Of course, some people would say that we don’t have a choice, that waiting is, by its very nature, a frustrating, or at the least, a boring experience, and for those people, they get to be right.
For the rest of us, however, I suggest we recognize that we always have the power to influence how we experience life, and bring this power to bear on our future experiences of waiting. I mean, wouldn’t you like to be able to deal with waiting in such a way that you maintain a good attitude?
Now, be careful. This is not someone saying, “You should be more patient and keep a good attitude when you are waiting.” (Which only results in our defending our right to be frustrated). This is us determining how we want to think, feel, and act in situations that we know are going to come up again and again.
In fact, I don’t even believe that impatience is such a terrible thing, especially if our “impatience” simply means that we are wanting things to move a bit faster and looking for ways to make that happen. For example, we might find ourselves stuck in traffic and begin looking for alternate routes. We might notice that a line we are in is moving slowly and look around for another. In these situations, we could be said to be “impatient,” but it doesn’t mean that we are stressed, frustrated, or resentful.
This is the key point here, and the wisdom behind Joyce Meyer’s quote. Sure, we will find ourselves waiting in the future. The question is, can we create a good, or better yet, a more purposeful attitude when doing so?
If the answer is “yes” (which might take some practice), then we have just identified yet another aspect of life in which we can be can become more influential. Isn’t this something we would recommend to those we love?
~ All the best, Dr. Bill