Patience Is A Practice

My cousin used to say that patience was a virtue and neither of us were genetically predisposed to it. It’s true. I come from a long line of impatience I’ve inherited through my mother’s side of the family.

Reinvention requires patience. Things can happen much slower than you’d like. Whether you are starting a new business, trying to get a book published or looking for your next great success. Impatience just makes whatever you are working to create take that much more time to manifest. It’s a sign of fear. If you have faith in your work patience requires less effort.

Some days it is easy. But since its not in my genes, there can be days like Monday.

I stood on the subway platform wondering why not one of the four trains that ran on those tracks was showing up. I felt my impatience rise up inside and start to take over my body like some alien being. I tapped my foot. I looked at my watch. I took out my iPhone just to make sure it said the same time as my watch. I let out a sigh. As if any of my actions was going to make that train show up any quicker.

Tuesday the monster was not quite done with me. This time I was waiting for an elevator on the way to a seminar.

I caught myself each time. I remembered how my days in Corporate America were filled with appearances from my impatience monster. All those things I couldn’t control, thinking my fury was going to make things happen any faster.

It didn’t. Things show up when they are supposed to. The subway did . So did the elevator. I knew that. I just forgot. I couldn’t control when the subway or the elevator came so I let the impatience monster have its way with me. I forgot that the one thing I can control is me.

Patience. It’s a virtue I am learning to own.