Week 7: Power of patience
It is safe to say that until Covid-19 made its entry into our lives, all of us had one simple mantra – to be ‘fast’. The faster it was, the better it seemed – fast cars, fast trains, fast phones, fast food and even fast friends. We are living at a time where instant gratification is the objective and quick results are the requirement.
But what happened to the hare and tortoise story that taught us ‘slow and steady wins the race’? Big cities and crowded environments have replaced slow and steady with impatience.
In this era of hyper-speed, anything that is ‘slow’ can have the ability to irritate and frustrate us, and change our behaviour and mood instantly – from positive to negative. How many times has your blood boiled over minor inconveniences such as horns in traffic jams, unruly queues at places, lack of etiquette, or waiting time on calls? All of these are just another way to describe ‘Impatience’.
What is patience?
If you look up the word ‘patience’ on Google, you get this definition – ‘the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.’
These negative emotions can lead to internal-self harm. We might be showing our anger to someone or something else, but we are invariably hurting ourselves in the process. This anger needs to be released from our mind, not by suppressing it but by eliminating it.
The importance of patience –
In these times of high stress and challenges, patience is a very important ‘skill’ to have for better mental and physical health.
Having Patience gets you out of the instant gratification mindset. If you put yourself in the shoes of a leader or an entrepreneur, it will become evident that their achievement was not an overnight accomplishment, but the result of patience and perseverance.
Patience helps in making better decisions. It is like a pause button for the mind to gather thoughts and feelings and bring them under control. It can open our minds to the positive opportunities around us, which could possibly even lead to a breakthrough.
When it comes to our personal lives, Patience helps preserve and keep relationships flourishing for a longer time. When we are patient, we draw people towards us compared to when we are short tempered and at the verge of erupting. Patience towards people can be developed when we realise that no one is perfect and that mistakes are a part of daily life that teach us the lessons we need to learn.
And most importantly, Patience can lead to better mental and physical health. When we are in a state of impatience, worrying becomes a possibility, which isn’t good for our mental health. Being in the midst of a pandemic, we are all holding on to a thread of hope that one day, it will all be behind us. However, it is very important to be patient and let nature take its course, rather than fretting impatiently for the world to ‘start’ again. Keeping a positive and balanced mindset can only lead to better physical health.
Knowing what we know now about this simple yet powerful skill, our new mantra should be ‘patience’.
An interesting example of patience leading to success is portrayed in the Hollywood film The Terminal by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Hanks. The movie is partially based on a true story of an Eastern European man who gets stranded in JFK International Airport for months, and how his light-hearted, patient nature allows him to succeed in the task he set out to do at the beginning of the movie!
To conclude, the following equations can be deduced:
Patience + Perseverance = Success
But also,
Patience = Peace
And who does not want peace?
Note from writer:
*Connect with Kaliedoculture on Instagram next Sunday (13th June) to practice a Yoga flow sequence that can help release worry, toxic thoughts and emotions, as well as develop patience internally.
Resources :
https://contentmentquesting.com/10-powerful-benefits-of-being-patient/
http://www.leadershipandspirituality.com/wisdom-and-action/leadership-elements-series-patience/
https://www.heartfulnessmagazine.com/patience-spiritual-path-personal-growth/
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/four_reasons_to_cultivate_patience
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/anger-spirituality-_b_1606805
