Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Patience Moves


"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." -Ralph Waldo Emerson

The start to a new week was going well. Everything was in order for my overseas business trip. It was an uneventful ride to the train station where I kissed my lovely wife goodbye. It was an uneventful train rider to the airport. It was even an uneventful stroll to the security checkpoint.

I than had to use most of what I write each day to exude patience upon the TSA security checkpoint. The queue up to have my ticket checked was fine and a very uncrowded line up to fill the bins awaited me. And than the TSA agent...

The line was moving very easily, there were no hold ups, no back ups. But all of a sudden she wanted everyone to shuffle along faster. She pushed our items onto the conveyor belt before we were ready. She hustled us for some unknown reason. I was very close to losing my patience but decided patience was the better course this day. Maybe this just wasn't a good day for her.

Patience paid off because I kept my cool, didn't create a scene and got through security with additional hassle. All I had to do was wait out the situation.

In business and every day life, we each are faced with times where that patience is tested. And having that patience is important because we all eventually come to terms with the fact that many things won't happen as soon as we would like them to.

One could imagine themselves as someone who prefers winter when it is currently July. At this moment in time you are unhappy. But you have to reach the point in understanding that the unhappiness is a choice. Will getting upset change summer into winter? Will getting upset really accomplish anything accept making you more miserable?

Winter will eventually come, so maybe it is much better to relax and just wait. Your stress level will fall quite a bit when you learn to accept the things you can not change.

Also, patience is important because some things are better the longer you wait. Uncooked food, marinated for hours and slow cooked becomes better with time. You could simply microwave it, but the marinating and slow cooking will provide you with much more satisfaction.

Lastly, patience will help keep you from acting irrationally. The result of not slowing down can keep you from acting rashly. If you sit back and think before acting, you may realize that there is an alternative solution that would benefit you more. The longer you wait, the more you will be able to control your emotions so that you can think rationally

These principles of patience can serve you well in business and in your personal life. All you have to do is slow down and watch it happen. It won't occur instantly, for if it did it wouldn't be patience.

So keep working towards being a more patient person in life and see how it can truly create a better world for you.

And stay inspired my friends.

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