Don’t Give Up – The Power of Patience

There are several valuable life skills that we learn over the years that advance our level of maturity and personal success to new levels. Many of these make us wish we would have known a particular fact earlier in life! Patience is a quality that seems to stir up mixed feelings. The word brings to mind waiting in long lines, too much time on hold with a phone call, or dealing with people that we’d rather not talk to. However, patience is also a fruit that can be nourished to and its profound effect carries over into every area of our lives. It gives us that edge in perseverance and that extra muscle we need to not give up before the miracle happens.

Dictionary.com lists one definition of patience as “quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence”. A patient person does not give up before their expected result. They do not pick green fruit, so to speak. If we can learn to master this quality, the results are well worth the energy and stubborn will that is sometimes required. At the heart of satisfied people is a quiet reserve of happiness and contentment that feeds their diligent nature. It offers a peace that allows them to accept and deal with the hardships of their labor without becoming stressed and worried while they work and wait for the full harvest. Many times in our lives the answer and the result we have worked, prayed, and sought for is just around the corner when we lose that diligence and give up. Don’t give up and settle for less than you deserve.

To not give up takes patience and in situations that have us on the edge our seat we can supplement by offering ourselves some distractions. I try to find ways that I can advance that situation or other small tasks I can work on while I’m waiting. For example, if I’m waiting on an important phone call and I feel myself being impatient, then I will answer a few emails or call a friend that is waiting to hear from me.

A unique characteristic of patience is its ability to assist in any situation in our lives. Problems, projects, ideas, and decisions large and small can be positively affected by this still, quiet strength. I have recently developed a motto that applies my life. “If it has to have an answer now, the answer is ‘no’”. I started to judge many things that I thought were “important” by how much of a rush it put me in. Practically, it has saved me a lot of money by preventing me from buying items on impulse or going into unnecessary debt. Personally, it saves a lot of stress and helps me to see the importance of waiting things out. Anything can wait at least one day and so can we. Don’t give up today; wait at least one more day!