Thoughts on Life & Work: Patience

For those of you following along at home, this is the fourth post in a series based on a list of characteristics that were penned by the ancient Saint Paul, a first-century contemporary of Jesus. The list ended with the phrase “against such things, there is no law,” and I’ve come to believe these traits not only serve us well in life but also at work. So, as a refresher, here’s the list: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. So, without dilly-dallying more, let me hurry up and get going on the topic of Patience.?

Unlike a few of the other topics I’ve written on, I don’t think I need to spend any time defining terms for this one. Patience is a universally understood concept. I’d describe it as “the willingness to wait for something without losing your cool.” And that’s why I think it’s a relevant topic for our workplace. Most folks struggle with either the first part of that definition or the second part or both, including yours truly. Now we all know that a level of “impatience” is often needed at work. We even have a phrase for it – “a sense of urgency.” But truthfully, I know that at times, many of us are NOT willing to wait for something, even when it’s quite reasonable that we should. This intolerance for waiting seems to have been both exacerbated and yet oddly relieved due to our technology.?

?On the one hand, we are highly conditioned to “instant everything.” If you want to see someone from a younger generation roll their eyes at someone from my generation, just get us talking about how we used to watch our PCs “paint the screen” one LETTER at a time with something called a 300bps modem. I literally think some of my younger colleagues’ brains might implode if they were asked to do that today. On the other hand, the omnipresence of handheld devices now ensures that when we DO have to wait for something (or someone), we whip out our phones and start scrolling and searching. In other words, I might be willing to wait on the “main thing” if I have something in my pocket that ensures I don’t have to wait to see something new or interesting, or maybe even to get something done.???

?The other part of the definition is probably the bigger issue for most of us at work – that annoying “without losing your cool” part. In general, we have a whole society and cultural backdrop that now encourages losing your cool, preferably on social media and, quite frequently, anonymously. And that’s the other part that strikes me as quite relevant for the workplace. When for whatever reason, we are compelled to?practice Patience?(reasonably so, I guess I should add), we still struggle mightily not to lose it. And, per the discussion on technology above, I think this is largely because we have either forgotten how (my generation) or never learned how (most younger generations) to wait gracefully. It’s a lost art, and maybe one we should think about recovering.???

On a related note, it’s fascinating to me that there is such a current focus on “mindfulness.” Even my Apple watch is scolding me these days to be more mindful. I suppose that if any of us hope to learn how to sit quietly and be thoughtful, we might do well to start practicing with?mini-bursts?of mindfulness when we’re?in a position?to do so (note: this will look a LOT like we’re being patient). So, that’s my encouragement—to myself and all of us. I think we would do well to develop a “willingness” to be patient and then start thinking about how to wait for things in a mental state of calmness. If we do, I’m sure that when it IS important to create a sense of urgency, our colleagues or our team will note that this is “different” and will probably be more likely to respond thoughtfully and respectfully. So, what do you say? Let’s give?Patience?a try and see how it goes.?