Words to Digest: Patience

Patience

/ˈpāSHəns/

noun

The capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

I got a call from my dear friend this week who started on the Advanced Plan last week and hasn’t lost any weight. In fact she had gained half a pound. It’s been 5 days since she started the plan. I suggested that she have patience and see what happens. Give it the two full weeks. That chat with her reminds me of the way I used to look at things… always in a hurry and disappointed when things didn’t just perfectly fall into place. In turn that would make me give up. I had no patience.

I had no patience with me or with others. Now that doesn’t mean I’d excuse myself or others for a job badly done… but I wasn’t giving me or them a chance to succeed or to lose. What I realized is that as human beings we all travel at our own pace. We all have different mindsets. We are all motivated by different things. The trick is to find what motivates you and have the patience to stay with it. Advisers counselors, psychologists… heck… even Madison Ave. have spent trillions of dollars (yes that’s right trillions) trying different ways to motivate people. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t, because it all boils down to know what motivates you and keeps you motivated. And that takes patience. Patience with yourself and patience with others.

Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.

-John Quincy Adams

And while you have patience you will develop a deeper understanding of how and why things work. You will have time for introspection, contemplation and the acquisition of wisdom… all tools you will need to succeed. But it is still up to you to succeed.