I wrote a post over at Owasso Character Council titled Patience Is Contagious. Each month we promote a trait in the city as part of our City of Character initiative.
Patience actively trusts, in the moment, the outcome will be worth the delay. As we trust the value of our outcome to exceed the cost of the delay or the effort, we practice grace, peace, confidence and we inspire others to practice them too.
For me, the problem is the phrase “in the moment.” If you’re like me, you started your effort or you decided to pursue a goal because it was worthwhile. It’s valuable to go to work. It’s important to help your kids with homework. We look forward to riding a roller coaster or getting a haircut. Otherwise we wouldn’t have started to do them in the first place. After we start, when our focus is locked on the outcome, we experience the delays, the lines, the obstacles. We forgot them when we were focusing on our goal. They almost always catch us by surprise and they often exceed our expectations.
The secret to happiness is to maintain low expectations. – Mike Henry Sr.
I often say the secret to happiness in golf is to maintain low expectations. In some degree, my inability to be content with the time something takes contributes to my impatience. I get locked on the goal, and expose my impatience when I’m surprised by the time something took or the extra cost. I quit a lot of jobs when I was younger because I could find something else rather than wait (and work) for a better outcome. My impatience caused a lot of transition in our lives.
But I’m learning to trust, at least sometimes. Can you trust the benefit will be worth the delay? Do you jump off the highway and try to find another route, or do you wait it out? Do you bail on a project or a job or a career when the going gets tough? I find my patience grows when I remember and focus on the benefit I expected. I also find my patience grows when I chase noble goals. Little goals and small rewards simply aren’t worth the effort for me any more. Small dreams aren’t worth chasing. I want to chase big dreams and exercise the patience and the persistence to achieve great objectives.
What about you? What’s your big dream? Do you have the patience for it? Maybe you’ve already reached it? Would you share about how you stuck it out? Was it worth it? How can you help us manage our expectations so we apply patience to achieve our greatest dreams?
Photo credit carlovenson Pixabay cc0
Mike Henry Sr. 