How to Make a Better You – Patience Brings Peace

by Nina Sabin - Healthy Tip

In this society, where we have fast food, self-serve gas, self-checkouts, high-speed internet, buying things on line, social media, etc., we tend to expect to have things happen immediately. We don’t like to wait and we become impatient when we have to wait for anything. I have to admit, I am definitely not the most patient person especially when it comes to my internet or computer running slowly.

There are so many things that can make us impatient: having to wait in a long line when there are three other registers where a sales clerk could be working, having to wait in traffic and there seems to be no end in sight, when the internet runs slowly or not working, or the computer runs slowly. I bet you have your own list of things that make you impatient. Think about them as you read this healthy tip as I will be referring to your list later in this article.

The question is what happens to our mind, body, and soul when we lose our patience?

Impatience often leads to anger and frustration. Anger and frustration can lead to physical problems like heart problems and high blood pressure; mental problems like anxiety or depression; and, we lose sight of having peace which is what is healthy and good for our soul.

So the big question is: how to avoid impatience and learn to be patient which leads to peace.

Remember at the beginning of this article I asked you to think about your list of what makes you impatient? Now, take time to write down the list and see how you can learn to be patient.

Here are some strategies to help be patient:

1) Think about why the situation is making you impatient?

2) Be aware that you are becoming impatient and stop it before it escalates.

3) What can you do about the situation, usually the answer is to wait.

4) Take 10 deep breaths.

5) Turn your mind on something else, like playing a game on your phone or having a chat with someone waiting in line with you. (You may even make a new friend that way – you already have something in common - waiting).

6) If the situation is not waiting in line, but more like a computer issue, leave the situation for a while, and tackle it later, or ask someone to help with the problem.

7) Don’t react to the situation, just go with the flow.

These strategies will be helpful with most circumstances that can lead to being impatient. Type A personalities seem to struggle the most with impatience. So if you know you are a Type A like me and want everything to be done now and done correctly, you will have to work extra hard to learn to be patient. However, once you practice these strategies on a regular basis they will come naturally and your patience will improve. You will also notice how peaceful you feel by not becoming impatient.

Remember being patient leads to peace which lead to “Making a Better You.”