The Chain of Impatience

By: Jessica Manuel 

I can admit that I’m usually the shopper fighting over the last toaster oven because I leave Christmas shopping to the last minute…. Guilty. During this time I catch myself bearing extra stress, trying to find the perfect gift in the least amount of time, fighting over parking spots and consistently losing my patience as a result.

There are other times where I seem to lose my patience but it’s especially prevalent during the Christmas holidays. Good news: I understand that this is fully in my control and I am accountable to changing my behaviour.

But what about the people impacted negatively by my impatience? I can’t necessarily control that or change how they feel; the only thing I can change is my behaviour not their reaction.

This Bad Seed Of Impatience Can Lead To A Harvest of Hostility.

Random moments of impatience happens to all of us however some people live a life full of impatience as a result of greed, entitlement, arrogance and a lack of empathy. More so, because this is a choice, the same individuals lack the ability to be accountable to hurting others in the process; they become hostile, angry, lonely and seemingly anxious.

Why Is It Important To Break The Chain Of Impatience?

We need to release ourselves from unnecessary anxiety that can warp our perceptions of how we treat others. If we understand that there is 86,400 seconds in a day, we would realize that there are also 86,400 seconds of opportunity to impact others. Are you go to empower others or place burdens on their shoulders?

We can not improve our circumstances by being impatient. Impatience solves nothing, it can only add to the problem. It is important to recognize that this is a feeling that alters your actions and henceforth our character in that moment. The more you give into the feeling, the more inconsistent you will become or the less control you have.

All of this leads to discouragement and habitual behaviour that will only serve to ruin relationships whether personal or professional and will lead to heavier Chains to Break.

Most importantly impatience is a very unattractive quality.

How To Break This Chain

Accountability is the key to starting the journey towards freedom from impatience. Recognizing this behaviour and whether it is linked to a deeper issue is a great place to start and usually the most uncomfortable part of the process (there’s nothing fun about admitting you have a problem).

Fortunately for me, when I fall into this behaviour its easy to recognize because it doesn’t happen too often. I ask myself, what is wrong? Personally speaking, impatience for me is linked to a lack of sleep, a misunderstanding, feeling disrespected or most commonly hunger.

The first thing I do is apologize. This is a hard part of the process but extremely necessary to avoid others from being negatively impacted by my behaviour.

Isn’t it true that people who exude a lack of patience are unapproachable? So if the person is unable to break free from this hinderance, anger, frustration and loneliness will only continue to build because of the rare percentage of people willing to help them.  A vicious cycle that leads to isolation – a hard place to be patient.

Think about it…..