How To Deal With Impatience
I remember exactly where I was when I read the line that would literally start my personal development journey. I was sitting at my cubicle, at what seemed like a soul-crushing job, scrolling through Facebook (shhh, I hope my ex-employer isn’t reading this!), when those words scrolled across my screen…
“One year from now, you will wish you started today.”
In a world where instant gratification is king, and I am the queen of that, it can be very challenging to have patience. With the latest social media trick and next productivity hack, it’s no wonder we can’t stay commit and give up when we don’t get what we’re looking for instantly.
Here are three things you can use to remind yourself that all good things take time…
This is temporary
As is everything in life (sad, I know), but also comforting because that means tough times are also temporary. If you feel like things aren’t happening as quickly as you would like, remember that it’s temporary. Success is never overnight (though sometimes it seems like it), but rather an accumulation of small, tiny steps. Remember that what you do now snowballs into what you do next. It’s all temporary. It’s funny how day by day, it seems like nothing is changing, but when you look back, you see how much has actually changed.
2. This stage is preparing me for the next one
Every stage of your life prepares you for the next one. You are where you are today not because of what you did two minutes ago but because of what you’ve done as a result of all your days on earth. Whatever you learn now, sets the foundation for the success you will see later. If you set a very shaky foundation, so will your success be. I read something when I was just starting my entrepreneurship journey that really got me to slow down and have more patience. It went something like this…if you can’t be great at the small tasks you are given today how can you be trusted with the bigger tasks? We often think that when “I am successful or when I have those thousands of followers that’s when I will be happy and serve.” But why would you be trusted with thousands of followers when you can’t even keep yourself from giving up and you can’t get yourself to stick to a routine and give it all you got? Remember this…
To get to the top of a mountain, you have to start at the bottom.
3. How can I use where I am now to do one thing that my future send will thank me for?
Just like that one line on Facebook got me started on my personal development journey over five years ago, you can use it to help keep you on track and from giving up. What can you do at this very moment that you will be thankful for one year from now? The worst thing is to look back and realize that you could have done better, that you should have started earlier. And yes, maybe you should have started earlier; the best time to start was yesterday, the second best is today. Stop thinking about doing things and actually do them. Your future self will thank you-I know because I am my future self and I thank the Zee from five years ago for taking action when she read that quote on Facebook.
Here’s to YOU!
Putting it into action:
How can you put this into action and start doing it? Here are two questions to ask yourself, journal about, then staring DOING…
What’s the ONE thing that you have been putting off? That one thing that you’re dreading doing. The thing that you think about doing when you suddenly remember that you have laundry to do? THAT’S what you should do FIRST. Right now.
You have to do everything to the best of your capability, even if you hate it. How can you do every task like it’s your absolute fave? It’s a personality, it shows your work ethic. How can you start incorporating more heart in all that you do? Maybe you need to turn on that song that you love. Or maybe you need to do a two-minute dance before you start each task. Do whatever it takes, get in the mood, then give it all you got in everything you do (yes, that includes brushing your teeth)!
xo,
Zee
