Unexpected Ways To Increase Your Patience

Patience is something we appreciate and admire in others. Cultivating patience in our own lives – that feels arduous!

A few years back, before our cable provider offered an incentive for us to look elsewhere for a streaming service, my husband and I encountered a technical glitch that really tried our patience. What made this glitch more bothersome is that it lingered!

Back then, the bulk of our TV viewing consisted of shows that we’d recorded and then watched at our leisure – our way of winding down in the evenings. Suddenly, this glitch turned what was previously a relaxing end to the day into a stressful frustrating one!

The glitch: Skipping the commercials zapped you right back to the beginning of the show. Every time! Ugh!

It made the best part of watching recorded TV – skipping the commercials – an incredibly maddening moment.

Our cable provider cheerfully dispatched two different service men to trade out our box, reprogram it, and probably a few other fixes they never even told us about, however, the glitch persisted!

Towards the end of our adventure, one of the service guys actually helped us resolve some other technical issues with our internet, but the TV glitch persisted!

Believe me, this glitch seriously tested our patience!

NOW!

In this day and age, we expect everything right when we want it – NOW!

If you are as well on in years as I am, growing up you either saw a show in black and white with ALL the commercials when it aired or you missed it completely. In some cases, you might catch reruns later, but watching it when you wanted and avoiding the commercials was not an option.

Today, with a myriad of streaming services, it’s possible to access whatever you want to watch whenever you want to…as long as you are willing to pay! Unless there’s a glitch!

The desire for everything right now spills over into nearly every area of life: fast food, inability to save money, communication, and so much more. Honestly, our patience muscle doesn’t get much of a workout these days, and yet, what’s worthwhile still takes time and is worth waiting for!

In the grand scheme of life, our cable complication wasn’t a big deal. It does highlight how spoiled we’ve gotten when it comes to enjoying quick results at the push of a button.

In spite of the many “quick” options we enjoy, there are plenty of areas where patience is required. Areas where a whole lot more is at stake than leisure TV! Patience is essential in relationships, work, business, finances, physical health, and more.

Patience Versus Passivity

Please don’t confuse patience with being passive. It’s possible to be unbelievably patient and VERY proactive at the same time.

I especially like the way Dictionary.com defines patience:

The bottom line, patience is about your response. In light of this definition, how patient are you?

Most of us could use a little more patience!

It’s A Virtue

Patience is considered a virtue and serves you well in life and work because someone who is patient translates into someone who…

• Interacts respectfully
• Is naturally persevering
• Winds up doing less and being more productive
• Takes time to process
• Inspires calm, positivity, and exudes gentleness
• Demonstrates confidence in God
• Possess self-control
• Makes wise decisions
• Builds trust
• Has a positive reputation

Those are all motivating reasons to practice being more patient!

If you’d like to increase your level of patience, here are some unexpected ways to do that:

1. Slow Down

Practice slowing down. Refuse to hurry! Try speaking slower, walking slower, driving slower, eating slower, etc. While this is not our culture’s norm, choose to do life differently.

Don’t let fear or FOMO tempt you to speed up. Pay attention to when you begin to hurry and your reasons(s) for picking up the pace.

2. Practice Waiting

Patience is like any other habit, it’s something to be practiced. Sometimes it requires lots of practice before it becomes your default way of doing life.

Intentionally look for opportunities to practice waiting or delaying gratification. Rather than getting into the shortest line at the grocery store, choose the longest one. Then slow down, breathe; give yourself the opportunity to notice what’s going on around you and what’s taking place inside you.

What are other ways you might practice waiting?

3. Identify & Eliminate Your Energy Zappers

When energy zappers persist in your life, they not only drain your energy, but also your ability to be patient. Which of these energy zappers are you currently experiencing?

• • • Challenging situations
    • “Shoulds”
    • Difficult people/relationships
    • Work pressures
    • Negative emotions
    • Unmet needs
    • Being over-scheduled
    • Unfinished projects
    • Distractions
    • Clutter
    • Unrealistic “to do” lists
    • Fear
    • Social Media
    • Procrastinating or trying to be perfect
    • Not spending time with God

There are certain energy zappers that you have no control over, but you do have control over how you choose to think about those situations.

There are other energy zappers that you do have plenty of control over! How will you eliminate those energy zappers?

4. Focus on Your Vision/Goals

Life offers endless possibilities, many of them being really good options! It’s important to narrow down your focus and know what your priority is in this season.

Remind yourself daily WHY your goals are important to you. Don’t give up! Staying the course and pursuing your vision or goals requires patience.

5.  Stop Making Excuses

Waiting is hard! It’s uncertain, uncomfortable, and unnatural! Along the way it’s easy to complain or give up! That’s fear at work and an opportunity to practice patience.

It’s also tempting to make excuses for not being patient. Some of them even sound darn good!

6. Face Your Fear Monster

When your Fear Monster is running the show, your reactions make sure that you don’t get the very thing you want most: to matter, be enough, be loved and accepted, etc.

When you feel like you don’t matter, aren’t enough, or are rejected you are unlikely to be as patient.

Unless you are able to look your Fear Monster in the eye and boldly walk in who God created you to be, you will continue to be impatient.

7. Journal

One of the beauties of slowing down and reflecting is that you are able to spot your lack of patience. Journaling is fantastic way to slow down, process, and tap into your feelings including feeling impatient.

Periodically ask yourself, where in my life do I feel impatient? Where am I tired of waiting? How do I feel about having to wait?

8. Practice Yoga

Yoga forces you to slow down, breathe, and be more mindful while being physically more demanding than you would think! It’s an ideal opportunity to practice being patient!

Lest you think I’m encouraging you to travel down some weird new age path to greater patience, I want to be clear that I’m talking about a way of focusing, breathing, and moving, without the mantras and meditation associated with traditional Eastern yoga.

If yoga isn’t for you, try breathwork.

9. Permission to Do What You LOVE

Depriving yourself of the very activities that nurture your soul, increases resentment and drains your patience.

This is not an invitation to do whatever you want whenever you want, but rather encouragement to make space in your life for the activities that bring you joy. Even 30 minutes of a joy-filled activity makes a world of difference. It’s good for you.

10. Listen More, Talk Less

Listen! It’s the perfect opportunity to practice patience!

11. Cultivate Better Habits

Impatience is a bad habit. And it’s a habit that is the result of other bad habits like not getting enough sleep, not eating healthy and regular meals, skipping exercise, and overcrowding your schedule. All habits that leave you depleted, on edge, and impatient!

Cultivating good habits not only helps with being patient, they also do great things for your health and well-being too!

12. Eliminate Responsibilities

Taking on too much makes you stressed and edgy, AKA impatient! Being stretched thin and being patient simultaneously is nearly impossible.

What responsibilities do you need to let go of?

13. Ask For Patience

Praying for patience – sounds daring, right? The expectation is that God will heap on you all sorts of hardships to help you develop patience.

The reality is that you already face plenty of opportunities every day to develop patience, you just don’t ask God to help you along the way! To truly be more patient, you’ll need His help! In fact, you probably will need Him to help you accomplish the first 12 suggestions I’ve shared!

When life tests your patience, how will you choose to respond?

While relatively insignificant, our cable adventure tried our patience and it did eventually get resolved. Just a silly example of how life is brimming with annoying moments of waiting –opportunities to practice being patient!

What’s trying your patience?

This post was originally posted on 2/20/18 and has been updated and revised just for you!