Be Patient – 13 Tricks For When Your Patience Is Wearing Thin
Want to be patient – MORE patient? Here are 13 tricks to embrace when your patience is seriously wearing thin.
Let’s chat about how to be patient in life.
In case you haven’t guessed, life is full of road-bumps and hurdles when it comes to our journey. There is always something popping up to test our patience.
Every day it’s something new. Maybe today traffic makes you late to work. Or your child loses their homework folder just before an important assignment is due or a family member or friend blames you for a decision they made and that had nothing to do with you.
Whatever the case, you need to know that you can’t always change your circumstances.
IT IS WHAT IT IS I like to say.
More often than not, the only thing that needs to change is the one thing you have control of and that’s your attitude.
This is where patience comes into the equation.
Developing more patience will definitely make your life run smoother.
Patience isn’t however a characteristic that we are innately born with. Developing patience is in fact just like acquiring any other skill. Therefore to develop it we need to practice regularly.
So if you are looking to develop more patience you are in the right place.
The best place to start practicing patience is with minor irritations and over time you can work your way up to handling bigger challenges.
Take a look at these exercises for developing more patience.
Simple Tricks for Increasing Patience:
BE PATIENT
TIP # 1 – Spot your triggers.
First things first – you need to figure out what frustrates you the most in life and why.
It could be certain events or words.
What is your personal trigger?
Ask your family and friends now for feedback if you’re not sure about what usually sets you off and makes you feel most impatient.
Our patience will achieve more than our force. Edmund Burke
Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength. Bruce Lee
BE PATIENT
TIP # 2 – Keep a journal.
Another way to track your “I really want to learn to be more patient” progress is to keep a journal.
While you’re trying to develop more patience, it helps to keep a record of your activities.
Use your phone or a notepad to count the number of times you feel stressed and describe the situations.
Keep a log of your triggers and how you coped with the situation.
Later on you can use this information to your advantage.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 3 – Slow down.
I know, I know, it’s sometimes a hard thing to do when we are time-poor but the reality is rushing around creates more tension.
You need to stop and PAUSE for a moment when you feel overwhelmed, so you can resist the urge to speed up and get impatient about things not happening on your timeline or as you expect them to occur.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 4 – Meditate on your breath.
When you are feeling stressed or impatient, try to maintain a daily meditation practice.
Even just a few minutes of calm, deep breathing can be beneficial in helping you stay more patient.
Don’t do anything else in those moments.
Just put aside all other thoughts as you stop and focus on your breathing and each inhalation and exhalation.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 5 – Relax your muscles.
Another tip to increase patience is to scan your body when something disturbing happens, so you can release tension quickly.
How has your posture changed when you feel frustrated?
Is your body language giving off a terrible impatient vibe?
Stop and smooth your brows and unclench your jaw.
Soften your neck and shoulders.
Gently rub your back or any sore spots.
These are things you can do to calm yourself down for a moment.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 6 – Take care of basic needs.
It is so much easier to feel impatient and annoyed when your body is lacking its basic needs.
You may not even think this is a factor to consider but dehydration, hunger, and lack of sleep can all threaten your composure.
This is why I encourage you to carry a water bottle and healthy snacks with you so you can refuel as needed.
Go to bed early and aim for at least 7 hours of sleep each night.
Do this with the goal of feeling rested and satisfied which will in turn make you feel calmer.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 7 – Look at nature.
I hate to burst your bubble but it isn’t just about you!
Look at the world around you.
Stop and walk outside for a moment.
The different seasons we all experience – from heat in summer to cold, rain, and/or snow in winter can teach you to embrace change or at least tolerate discomfort.
Have you ever noticed that the weather is unpredictable?
Well so too are people – it’s just the way it is.
Consider reconnecting to nature and simplicity so that you understand that sometimes in life you need to GO WITH THE FLOW.
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. Lao Tzu
Everything that slows us down and forces patience, everything that sets us back into the slow circles of nature, is a help. May Sarton
Never cut a tree down in the wintertime. Never make a negative decision in the low time. Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come. Robert H. Schuller
Advanced Exercises for Increasing Patience:
BE PATIENT
TIP # 8 – Delay gratification. Practice waiting for what you want.
Consider the definition of patience: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.
So now learn to do the same yourself and that’s WAIT!
Do your best to postpone impulse shopping purchases for a day or two or go for a walk before you sit down to eat dessert.
If you expect others to be able to wait for something, you should be willing to demonstrate the same quality too.
Trust the process. Your time is coming. Just do the work and the results will handle themselves. Tony Gaskins
Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy. Saadi
BE PATIENT
TIP # 9 – Set priorities.
Are you trying to do too much?
Delete nonessential tasks from your to do list.
That way you’ll have more time for the things that really matter to you.
To change your life, you need to change your priorities. Mark Twain
The first step to success is knowing your priorities. Aspesh
Your decisions reveal your priorities. Jeff Van Gundy
If it’s a priority you’ll find a way. If it isn’t, you’ll find an excuse. Jim Rohn
Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Laura Vanderkam
BE PATIENT
TIP # 10 – Adjust your expectations.
As much as I love technology, technology conditions us to expect things quickly, like groceries delivered to your door or streaming movies and music on demand.
We want it and we want it NOW.
You need to remember that important projects usually require significant time and effort.
Patience is essential because whether you like it or not some things take TIME to happen.
Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in your mind. David G. Allen
If you chase two rabbits, you will not catch either one. Russian Proverb
BE PATIENT
TIP # 11 – Evaluate the outcomes.
Losing your patience might be tempting if someone messes up something basic or you drive 20 minutes to collect an item that still isn’t ready.
However, you usually just wind up feeling less-than-satisfied when you lose your patience.
Remember my philosophy – it is what it is.
You can’t change those circumstances but you can change your attitude and approach to the situation.
Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.
BE PATIENT
TIP # 12 – Listen closely.
Do you become edgy when your children ask multiple questions or coworkers talk so long that a meeting runs overtime?
Instead of tuning them out, give them your full attention.
Is there something there for you to learn?
Do they need to be heard by you right now?
Rather than coming from a position of attack, put your guard down for a second and RELAX.
You’ll probably feel calmer and you may learn something new.
When you have self-knowledge, you’re naturally calm and poised. You overcome obstacles with ease since you accept them as part of your plan. Maxime Lagacé
BE PATIENT
TIP # 13 – Be thankful and helpful. Gratitude and generosity are the ultimate recipe for patience.
It really is true.
When you count your blessings this can help you keep minor irritations in perspective.
Think about what you can share with others instead of focusing on your own comfort.
Remember it isn’t all about you.
Sometimes you need to give as much as you take.
BE PATIENT
In the end, increasing your patience is a good skill to develop because it will make you feel so much more at peace.
You’ll experience less stress and learn to adjust to the flow of life, rather than always expecting things to occur on your timeline and in the way you expect them to when that just isn’t always a realistic expectation.
Stop for a second and pause.
Take a deep breath and trust that ultimately everything will work out just fine. .
A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else. George Savile
You usually have to wait for that which is worth waiting for. Craig Bruce
Patience is the key to contentment.
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I’m Frances Vidakovic – a mindset & action coach for quietly ambitious women who want to stop overthinking and finally take aligned action. I help women achieve their goals and follow through on what matters, without sacrificing their sanity or soul.