Word Of the Week #44: Patience
April 21, 2009 by Susan Clarke
Patience: calm self-possession in confronting obstacles or adversity. Courageous endurance.
You’ve heard the sayings, “Patience is a virtue” and “Good things come to those who wait.” I specifically chose this word to follow last week’s WOW on persistence. How can you be patient and persistent at the same time?
Patient Penguin
Patience is having the courage to stick with your plan and not get sidetracked or worse, forgo the plan. The key word being: PLAN. When you are in a hurry, you have a tendency to not check all the details. That’s when mistakes are made and/or we spend more time redoing what we did.
In our computerized world of instant messaging, we work at a much faster speed and as a result we have speeded up. Sometimes it’s good to not be in a hurry.
For example, my girlfriend wanted to repaint her living room. The patient thing to do would be to pick the color, buy only a quart rather than a gallon, take it home, and paint a small area and determine if it is the right color.
What she did was buy a gallon, painted the whole wall and then hated it. She had to go back and start all over. It cost more money and time (both in paint and labor since she had hired a painter.)
This week ask yourself, “Could I be more patient?” If so, what could you do to be more calm and work “the plan” at a slower, more calculated rate?
Reader Responses
“One of the best definitions of patience I have ever heard is: Patience is finding something else interesting to do while you are waiting.” — Dwight GoldWinde
“Great message! Something we all need more of… patience!” — Shelley Sigholtz
“Patience is indeed a virtue. I have had to work at it all of my life. Persistence has never been a problem. I have been persistent with many things in my life, especially on the professional end. I am a person who once he sets his mind to do something, I work at it until I finish it. I always make a point of finishing whatever it is I start. I don’t believe in dropping one thing and then going on to something else. There is a lack of completion, leaving me with an empty feeling. During my life I have always tried to be patiently persistent in everything. It is hard, but I have found that things get done that way. Thanks for the reminder.” — Joe Moran
“Now and then one of your “Word of the Week” messages really hits home…I’m in a situation where PATIENCE is vital, but it is very hard to be patient…seeing this messages as the first thing I opened this morning (note time) was PERFECT!” — John Haskell/Dr. Revenue®
“I want you to know that these words make an impact in my life on daily basis, and I feel that you impact many, I encourage you to continue what you are doing, I think you are headed in the right direction!” — Brenda Moreno