It is said that patience is a virtue but for me, it is seldom easy. Entering the fifth month of Covid-19 along with our crazy political climate, coupled with the fact that I have done nothing other than go to work and then home with my husband and two dogs for months has begun to test me. Don’t get me wrong my husband and dogs are lovely, but I am not one to enjoy staying home. I love to travel, go to shows, eat out, gather with people, and have fun. This stay at home stuff is not my style.
There are so many opportunities in today’s world to practice patience. When someone that I admire randomly retweets something that they think is accurate but is actually all kinds of stupid, I must practice my patience. When a client berates me for their 10-minute wait to get through on our jammed phone lines, I have to take a deep breath and practice my ability to remain patient.
The definition of patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” To me, that means keeping myself from getting worked up over small things and allowing myself to accept that everything will not always go my way.
How do we become better people by improving our patience?
Try to practice self-control. If we fly off the handle every time something does not go our way, we will ultimately spoil relationships and alienate the people that we love. Taking a deep breath and thinking about our response to a stressful situation will ultimately result in a better long-term outcome. Realize that self-controlled responses cannot come from negative feelings. Changing your negative thoughts to more patient ones will allow you to think and react more clearly.
Patience helps us make better decisions. We think we want immediate gratification, but it is not always the best for our overall growth. Yelling and reacting may feel good in the moment but, creating more calm feelings by changing our reactions will lead us to a more peaceful response and reduce our regrets later.
If you are impatient when a pet or client challenges you, you will not choose wisely. Slowing down, taking a deep breath, and really thinking about the response that we want to offer will allow us to make better decisions and create better outcomes. Sometimes that means, walking away or taking a break from the immediate stressful situation and thinking it all the way through till the end. What do I want to happen here? Then plan my reaction with the end goal in mind.
Patience will lead you to more success. Most of the precious things that we want to create in life take time. Want to have a nice car, buy a house, or pay off your student loans? It will take patience to do it right. Practicing any life or career skill will increase the experience needed to create more success.
It is challenging to remain patient in unusual circumstances, but it is so worthwhile. Practicing patience will improve your mental and physical health while creating more peace and success for your life. You will be better able to think through difficult scenarios and focus on your future goals.
Join me in practicing your patience this week and let me know how it benefits your life.
Dr. Julie Cappel
“He that can have patience can have what he will.” ― Benjamin Franklin
“Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.” ― Roy T. Bennett
The Veterinary Life Coach Podcast with Dr. Julie Cappel
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