Patience

If it feels like I have been a bit MIA it’s because I have been. Work has been taking a lot out of me so when I get home I just don’t have the right energy to write. Today I was able to let go of negative energy and sit down with a clear mind. I want to share about patience and why it can be difficult but why it is so important to have in day to day activities.

Patience is defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Sounds easy enough, right? One of my new year's resolutions was to be more patient with Jay, but I’m thinking I need to broaden this resolution to being more patient with adults. I realize that I lose my patience much more quickly with adults than I do with children. At work I have the patience of a saint. Young children need to experience things on their own to be able to learn. This got me thinking, why don’t I apply this philosophy when working with adults?

I’ll give you a perfect example, even thinking about what I am going to type already has me starting to lose my cool. Every week I go to the grocery store and bring my own reusable bags, one of which is just for cold things. You know the bag with the insulated lining? Most times when I check out the bagger knows to put all the cold things in that special bag, but not every time. This past weekend I went to the store and to my dismay not a single cold thing got put in that bag. Needless to say I was fuming when I walked out of the grocery store. I called my husband, I ranted about how they never bag my things right, and I angrily threw my groceries in my trunk and drove away. To some this may sound silly, to others you’re agreeing with my rage, and the select few are thinking about the poor bagger I am bashing.

What did that little incident teach me? It taught me that adults, like children, need to be taught and learn new things. My grocery store comparison can be translated into so many other interactions that happen in a day. Think about who it is that you lose your patience with and what they are exactly doing. I can tell you that 95% of the time when I lose my patience with Jay it’s because he’s doing something one way when I know there is a better or easier way to do it; of course he will disagree with me but ladies we know who’s right.

Adults, like children, need the opportunity to try things on their own and explore their own ideas. When you’re in a situation and you feel yourself starting to boil, think what if this were {insert someone you can be patient with}. Have empathy with that person and know that they aren’t trying to annoy you but they may process a situation different than you. No two minds are alike but that is how we learn things! Sometimes I lose my patience with Jay and then realize that he was in fact right or had a better way to solve something (babe, don’t get used to me saying that!). I always tell my students that if everyone were alike in our classroom it would be pretty boring, so apply this concept to the world. To grow as a person you have to be open to others and their ideas, so start today with more patience in mind.

Do you have any tips or tricks to being patient? Yoga breaths also come in handy!! Stay healthy! Xoxo