Patience is something that I have had to learn over the years. It has become one of my most vital attributes and a great skill that I have learned. It may be one of my strongest attributes and skills now – but that wasn’t the case for me when I was younger. It was tough to be patient. I believe I was pretty impatient. I had never understood the concept of waiting for things.
I would say that I was also impulsive, and my impulsiveness fed into my impatience. Being impulsive when I was younger never did me any good; I was impulsive with almost everything. Being impulsive and impatient led me to be short-tempered with many things and many people growing up. I remember getting into silly sights in primary school because I was impatient. People my age not being as good as me at a game would annoy me – which is funny now that I think about it because it is so silly to get annoyed about.
I was often told that ‘patience is a virtue’ while growing up. It could be something I had asked before Christmas, my birthday, asking to go to the cinemas, or asking for a toy. If I had £1 for every time it was said to me, I’d be rich. I couldn’t grasp the concept of being patient for anything, and I would always question and ask why I couldn’t do certain things or could get certain things I had asked for. I would end up comparing myself to other kids my age, watching what they had and what I didn’t have.
When you are young, you don’t fully perceive life and understand how hard life can be. I didn’t understand. I didn’t know how hard it was for my parents because they did the best they could so that my siblings and I didn’t go without. I didn’t know and understand this back then, but I do now. Being the youngest in the household, many things were kept from me (as it always is when it comes to the youngest child) – So, any time I questioned, there were good reasons for the times I was told no or to be patient.
Learning patience was one of the hardest things to learn as it wasn’t easy for me. I had to unlearn behaviours and adjust my actions and reactions to people and things going on in my life that were out of my control. For me, patience required me not to have control over anything going on in my life, and I wouldn’t say I liked that. It’s funny to me now because I am a completely different person who is so laid back that nothing ever bothers me; I am more patient with people and things than ever. I had zero patience for anything or anyone. I’ve managed to turn it around to the point where some would say I have too much patience.
We live in a world with easy access to everything within arm’s reach. We have gotten so used to having things in the now that when we realise we can’t get what we need, we don’t know what to do with ourselves. I believe having easy access to everything can positively and negatively impact people – I’d be lying if I said it didn’t impact me. Easy access enabled people’s beliefs and wants of getting what they want – no one should always feel the need to get what they want.
With our easy access to everything, everyone has become impatient with things. At my age and this stage in my life, I truly understand when I was told that patience is a virtue because it is true. It is a virtue. The patience I have learned over the years has led me to the position I am in, whether it is in my career, my relationships with people or even my personal life in general. My patience has contributed to the best parts of my character, and I am proud of that. I will patiently wait for what is in store without forcing anything.
Good Things Come to Those Who Wait.