How do I become more patient? (7 Steps)
By Antoine G Larosiliere
After many years of being highly stressed, it became important for me to learn; how do I become more patient?
It’s not just me, I’m surrounded by impatient people, and we tend to irritate each other. Being impatient has affected my sleep, my health and my relationships. I eventually came to the realization that I had to do something about it. I did a little research and spoke to the most patient people I knew and asked them, “how do I become more patient?” What I learned, I will narrow it down for you in seven life transforming tips.
#1 Discover why you are impatient.
You can’t become more patient without first understanding why you’re impatient. Be mindful of your thoughts, behaviors and emotions. Take notes and write down why you’re impatient and then try to remove as many of those things as possible. A few questions you could ask yourself to discover what makes you impatient are…
- Which thought or behavior triggers your impatience?
- Who are you around when you feel impatient?
- Where are you usually when you begin to feel impatient?
- Which activities or behaviors trigger your impatience?
#2 Realize what’s meant for you; will find you.
It takes time for the things that are meant for you to find you. The wonderful things that are meant for you will come when you put yourself in a place to be able to receive them. In other words, take your time to become as wonderful and wonderful things will eventually come. Understand that becoming wonderful and addressing our voids and insecurities takes time, sometimes a long time. But once we’ve done the work, what’s meant for us will find us.
“Every weakness can become a strength through practice.”
#3 Practice Making Yourself Wait.
Every weakness can become a strength through practice. So, if you want to become more patient, you must practice being patient; that means practicing waiting. Before we can practice waiting, we need to choose something worth waiting for. Choose something that produces benefits that outweigh the struggle of waiting. According to Psychological Science, “waiting for things makes us happier in the long run.” Instead of eating that ice cream immediately after dinner, wait an hour and you’ll enjoy it more. Then eventually extend those waiting periods from an hour, to two hours and so forth.
#4 Accept what you cannot change.
Acceptance is a big part of being patient. Often when we’re impatient it’s because we haven’t accepted things outside our control. We’re trying to change things that we are not responsible for, and we become impatient when our efforts don’t make a difference. First try to recognize what you’re responsible for, and that usually is your actions and reactions. Then recognize the things that are outside of your control. Accept that you cannot control what you cannot change, only react to it accordingly.
#5 Try to realize patience will minimize mistakes.
I’m sure we all realize that when we are rushing or are impatient, we tend to make mistakes. By exercising patience, you will take your time when you are waiting as well as being proactive. Patience will allow you time to see the flaws in the plan and the mistakes that may lie ahead. Therefore patience can actually lead you to success sooner than you would without it.
#6 Remember your purpose.
We often make a big deal about things that don’t affect the big picture. We forget the ultimate purpose to what we are doing, and lose patience with the process. Whatever causes you to be impatient; ask yourself if it affects the big picture or your ultimate purpose. If it doesn’t, don’t let it frustrate you or make you impatient. Stay calm and keep it in perspective.
#7 Practice meditation and breathing
Being able to meditate and breathe deeply can benefit the mind and body greatly. Deep breathing and meditation calms the body and the mind and decreases feelings of impatience. So, take a deep breath, expand your belly, pause for a second or two, exhale slowly to the count of five and repeat the process four times. Meditation teaches you how to clear your mind of the negative thoughts that overwhelm your mind on a cyclical loop. The more you practice meditation, you will become more resilient to stress, frustration and challenging situations. To learn how to meditate visit Mindful.org.
Teaching yourself how to be more patient can improve your overall well being. You will notice benefits to your work habits, and your temperament. Patient people are often more pleasant to be around, thus leading to improved relationships as well. I hope this has been helpful. Also visit my YouTube channel for more insight to these topics.
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