Patience to perfection !!

Many of us are called to think out of the box, do things differently and work smart, not just hard. With challenges such as these, we may be forced to do things faster, just to be ahead of the curve and be successful. In the quest of creating opportunities there are chances that we overlook basic requirements and as a result may land up with results not desired.

Automation has surely helped our lives to be more comfortable and easy going, however in many ways quick completion and turn around time does not tantamount to being the best as well. Bringing in new processes, ideas and techniques definitely help in quality, efficiency and accuracy when dealing with production. But work relationships, trust and influence need to be built and nurtured over a period of time. These can never be built on one-off cases.

I am reminded of my recent experience where we bought a handful of lemons and in less than a week it was spoiled. While I received another batch of home-grown lemons, what became very evident is that it’s still lasting well over four weeks. This got me thinking!! Our fast-paced world and probably greed for multiple crop harvesting in shorter timelines and hastened processes have resulted in dangerous fertilizer and growth-enhancing ingredients being added, to cater to this.

Life is to be experienced through a marathon not a sprint. In our quest for immediate results, we overlook opportunities to build trust, build relationships and to cement our ties with each other. One employee engagement activity cannot build a bond between employees and the company. Likewise one good gesture by a stranger can normally not be taken for granted. We also find that in more serious relationships like marriage, both parties want to know thread-bare details of the other before they commit.

Similarly, Qualifications can never supercede experience as books and degrees can at the most cover every topic in 'simulation mode' only. Whereas experience covers every topic in 'reality mode'. As humans, we learn the most from what is observed and experienced than what is taught and shown.

Here are a few more real-life examples:

1. Feeling versus orders: Neither children nor young working professionals liked to be ordered around. They feel intimidated when this is done. Instead they like to feel and experience situations on the ground, for a better understanding.
2. Judging before listening: This is one of the most common situations we come across in our day-to-day experiences and even I’m guilty of the same. I get reminded sometimes that I need to slow down and wait for the other person to complete what they are saying. Due to our impatience, our listening has become very restricted. We listen more to judge and reply than to first soak up the content, process the same and then reply.
3. Fitness: In this modern world, many of us are conscious of what we eat and how much we exercise and then we adopt quick fixes as part of our weight-reduction programs. As a consequence, many unnatural ways may be followed and the body suffers as we go against natural trends.
4. Investments: Becoming a millionaire is everyone's wish, but the speed at which one may want to achieve this may seem unrealistic and unimaginable. With an impatient pursuit of this goal, one may try high-risk investments and may land in a situation where even the principle is lost.
5. Hobbies: With the advent of social media and rampant portrayal of stardom, many youngsters believe that hero status is just a stone's throw away but the reality is that Rome was not built in a day and so are hobbies and skills. They need time to develop.

Here's my experience...

Patience will indeed result in perfection if we are more persevering, patient in judging our performances and persistence cultivated. Let’s remind ourselves that by burning the candle from both ends and and trying to hasten the process will at the most, give us short-term pleasure and satisfaction but will not last the long haul.