Patience
Are you a patient person? Are you ok with waiting for something you have been wanting for a long time? I am not one of those people. I like to see a task and complete it. Start a project and knock it out. I like to get stuff DONE!
Sometimes, we are not supposed to be that way though. Sometimes we need to wait for something to come into our lives. It may be maturity that we are lacking, knowledge we don’t yet possess, or maybe its financial obstacles. It could be a number of things causing us not to be ready for our breakthrough.
We live in a time with the expectation of instant gratification. We are accustomed to being able to Google or YouTube just about anything we need to know. More often than not, we get aggravated when a web page is slow to load, a video buffers, or our taco party pack takes a while to be ready at our favorite taco place. Everyone has one of those right? We are not the best as a society at patiently waiting for anything.
Being patient doesn’t mean being lazy either. It means realizing you need to grow in some areas before you are ready to achieve your goals. That could mean taking steps to learn a new skill, researching your new business venture, or just waiting for the right opportunity to present itself. You must take action to get yourself ready to succeed in life, most of the time it just won’t happen on its own. Go to conferences, events, trade shows, conventions, read books, get coaching, follow a mentor, etc. Get out there in the world and be intentional about achieving your dreams. As the wise person at the fortune cookie factory told me this evening, you will discover your hidden talent.
We are conditioned to playing it safe, avoiding risk, and living in mediocrity. We were not designed to be that way. We can look at our ancestors for proof. Back in the caveman days they had to be brave, resourceful, and hunt for their survival. Later, our forefathers left England because of their desire for religious freedom. The industrial revolution was full of people challenging the status quo of the time and creating new ways to perform tasks and make things more efficient. Today we are in information overload thanks to the internet, social media, and TV stations. We are so blessed to have all the information at our fingertips to be able to learn about anything we want to know about. Follow in those footsteps, be bold, courageous, and also be patient to make changes in your life.
I know it seems I have contradicted myself, but I believe being patient is an activity not merely waiting. It is actively getting yourself ready to achieve your goals with a positive attitude.
My challenge to you is to be courageous, be intentional, and be actively working towards achieving your goals. You will be surprised how quickly you can make progress when you are taking steps instead of waiting for it to happen. Hopefully you won’t have to test out your patience for too long.