Patience is a close friend of wisdom

A famous philosopher has been teaching his students about politics and ethics for years. His students dislike him, since he constantly belittles their intellect and brags about his. One day, a young girl musters up the courage in class to ask him a simple question: “How does one gain wisdom?” This catches the philosopher off-guard. He doesn’t know what to say and tries to explain that he doesn’t know the answer to her question, since he focuses on ethics and political philosophy, and not epistemology. The girl is surprised, “You brag about how smart you are and how dumb we are, but you can’t answer the simple question of how one gains wisdom?!!” The class bursts into laughter.

The next day, the philosopher confronts the girl, “The only reason I couldn’t answer your question yesterday was because I didn’t have time to think about it, otherwise the answer is simple: You gain wisdom from introspection. In fact, this is the only way to gain wisdom.”The girl smirks, “Are you sure? If we can only gain wisdom by thinking on our own, then why are we taking classes from you?” The philosopher is speechless and the class starts to laugh at him again. A humbled philosopher comes to class the next day and addresses the girl, “I apologize for having been so arrogant over the years. I hope you can forgive me. You have taught me an important lesson: You can gain wisdom from others. ”

The girl is pleased but decides to gloat, “You are a fool. I know far more than you ever did and should be teaching this class, since there is nothing more you can teach me.” The philosopher sees his opening, “Really? I was about to teach a third way to gain wisdom that neither of us has mentioned. But I guess you can tell us.” The girl regrets her boast, “I can’t…” Her classmates snicker. After an embarrassingly long pause she asks, “What is it?”“You can gain wisdom from experience. The experience of being embarrassed in front of this class for boastfulness has taught me humility. I hope it teaches the same to you too.”

Confucius has said “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” There are other ways to gain wisdom too, but I think these three are a good start. There are times that patience is a major wisdom and there are times that patience is not only a waste of time but foolishness. In fact, sometimes people often think they are exercising patience without knowing it is laziness. Patience is a major wisdom when you know that you will get what you wanted at the right time and it is worth waiting for.

Being in a hurry all the time drains your energy. Getting caught up in things beyond your control stresses you out. If you’d like to reduce stress and become calm and cool. First learn to "Let go". This thing that seems like the end of the world right now? It’s not (promise).Stressing out about the situation you’re in won’t do any good because you’re already in it, so just let it go. For it just train yourself to distract. Listen party music, go for jogging or gym, read motivational books and watch such videos as well.

Breathe slowly. The next time you’re faced with a stressful situation that makes you want to hurry, stop what you’re doing for one minute and perform the following steps: Take five deep breaths in and out (your belly should come forward with each inhale). Imagine all that stress leaving your body with each exhale. Smile. Fake it if you have to. It’s pretty hard to stay grumpy with a goofy grin on your face. Feel free to repeat the above steps every few hours at work or home if you need to.

Science behind it: when you inhale the oxygen level increases, oxygen supply in brain also goes up making brain work efficiently which may make you realise that you are stressed uselessly and stressing won't make any difference except giving you health issues. So breathe deep! Loosen up. After your breathing session, perform a quick body scan to identify any areas that are tight or tense (Clenched jaw? Rounded shoulders? Anything else that isn’t at ease?).Gently touch or massage any of your body parts that are under tension to encourage total relaxation (it might help to imagine you’re in a place that calms you: a beach, hot tub, or nature trail, for example). This will for sure make you feel relaxed.

Also chew slowly while eating. Slow down at the dinner table if you want to learn to be patient and lose weight. This will make you learn self-control. Shoveling your food down as fast as you can is a surefire way to eat more than you need to (and find yourself with a bellyache). Be a mindful eater who pays attention to the taste, texture, and aroma of every dish. Chew slowly while you try to guess all of the ingredients that were used to prepare your dish. Chewing slowly will also reduce those dreadful late-night cravings that sneak up on you after work (click here for more information).

Learn to enjoy the journey of life. Focusing on the end result can quickly become exhausting. Chasing a bold, audacious goal that’s going to require a lot of time and patience. Split it into several mini-goals so you’ll have several causes for celebration. Giving yourself consistent positive feedback will help you grow patience, stay encouraged, and find more joy in the process of achieving your goals.

Always look at the bigger picture. The next time you find your stress level skyrocketing, take a deep breath, and ask yourself: Will this matter to me…Next week? Next month? or Next year? In 10 years? Hint: No, it won’t. I bet most of the stuff that stresses you wouldn’t matter the next week (maybe not even the next day). Stop agonizing over things you can’t control, because you’re only hurting yourself. Stop demanding perfection of yourself. You’re not perfect and that’s okay. Show me a person who claims to be perfect and I’ll show you a dirty liar. Demanding perfection of yourself (or anybody else) will only stress you out, because it just isn't possible.

Practice patience every day. Below are a few easy ways you can practice patience every day, increasing your ability to remain calm and cool in the face of stress: The next time you go to the grocery store, get in the longest line. Instead of going through the drive-thru at your bank, go inside. Take a long walk through a secluded park or trail. Meditate Daily without fail. There's mounting evidence that practicing meditation provides a broad range of benefits. If you practice meditation regularly over time, you'll reap the rewards of an inner calmness that won't be easily shaken by minor mishaps in daily life. Best of all, you can start meditating today for free with no special equipment.

Don't react — Just distract. Sometimes the best way to deal with frustrating situations is to focus on something other than your brewing irritation. Play a game of mental scavenger hunt using your surroundings. For example, if you're bumper-to-bumper in a traffic jam, rearrange the letters and numbers of the license plates around you to make funny words or phrases (this game also helps distract irritable kids). If you're stuck in a long line at the grocery store, discretely review the food selections of the person in front of you. Can you tell what's on their dinner menu? What could you make with the same ingredients?

And sleep tight without worrying. Not getting enough good quality sleep keeps us on edge and makes us more susceptible to losing our cool. Fortify your patience by giving yourself the advantage of a good night's rest that is built around at least seven hours of uninterrupted sleep. Practice gratitude everyday as you wake up. Since gratitude can improve your health, practice thankfulness to counter negative moods and impatience. The next time something isn't going your way, try to recall and be thankful for all the times things have gone right in the past. You might even find yourself being grateful for the opportunity to meet the challenge at hand!

Find a go slow hobby. Exercise your patience muscles with hobbies that build results over time. Knitting, painting, sculpture, and bonsai are relatively inexpensive ways to explore your creative side and build patience and mindfulness. As a bonus, practicing these crafts will likely result in beautiful object or two. You might even make a family heirloom in the process of becoming more patient. Think before you share anything to anyone. Don’t describe or blog or tweet about the problem. Don’t talk it over with your friends right away; let it stew a little in your mind so you can settle down a little. Sometimes, well-meaning friends will sympathize too much, which may only add fuel to your fire and get you even more upset.

Discover metaphors and visualizations that help you stay calm. Here’s one that helps me: I try to imagine my problem as a knot. The more I panic and pull on the ends, the tighter the knot cinches. But, when I adopt a singular focus, a calm takes over and I can loosen one strand at a time. Note your patterns of exasperation. Are there any specific situations that cause you to lose your cool? Look at specific patterns — from time of day, to level of stress (or level of boredom), to blood sugar levels. Do you tend to lose it when it’s too noisy – or too quiet? Knowing about your own patterns can go a long way in helping you keep your cool throughout the day.

Take care of the essentials in work. Make sure you are getting enough sleep and getting enough protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. I tend to lose my temper way more often if I’m low on blood sugar. But, get a little protein in me, and it’s (relatively) smooth sailing.Also make sure you are getting physical exercise . A daily workout can give you the physical release that can help you control your anxiety. If I’m feeling particularly stressed, I trade my half-hour run for a half hour of kickboxing. This helps.Stay away from too much sugar and caffeine and stay hydrated. Drink a huge glass of water and see if you feel better, more calm and alert.

Reflect on quotes that can help you calm your mind. Here are a few that I find inspiring: “You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.” Pema Chodron “Don't call it a dream, call it a plan” “Talking about our problems is our greatest addiction. Break the habit. Talk about your joys.” ~twitter. “Be gentle with yourself you're doing the best you can” Source: 8 Ways To Stay Calm and Cool (How to Be More Patient and Less Stressed) Cheers!