“You need to be patient and strong. Then you will continue to do what God wants. As a result, you will receive what God has promised.” Hebrews 10:36 EASY
Getting stuff done, at a particular pace often requires haste. And that’s why when I delegate a task and see how slow it is coming along, I tend to take it up myself. That lack of patience is one trait of workaholism that always sabotages success eventually.
A typical workaholic who wants to meet expectations doesn’t know how to slow down. His mantra is, “time waits for no man”, or “make haste while the sun shines”. While these are good statements under the right circumstances, they don’t always apply, especially when it’s possible to get some help.
Depending on your personality mix, you may find that you’re more patient than most workaholics you know. But you can be even more patient.
Studies have shown that people who are more patient have better self-control, are more resilient in the face of stress, and have better relationships. Now ask yourself, do you have all these three benefits? If you do, then you’re not in the category of people this post is referring to.
How can you then develop more patience?
My first call would always be to pray. But as you pray, do the following:
- Try to reflect more. There’s power in being by yourself, with yourself and for yourself alone. Not trying to meet the demands of anyone else. Carve out some time for this.
- Set realistic goals. Sounds like an ordinary point, but you must have noticed by now that your goals often have very tight timelines that you’ll have to work extra hard at to meet. Why not space it out?
- Learn to accept uncertainty. It’s not easy to accept this point, but I just must state it here. Not everything will go our way every time. This is the hardest of the three points…ha-ha!
What are the benefits of developing more patience as you work?
The focus scripture answered this perfectly. Patience will help you stay consistent with what God wants. Even if you don’t know what God wants, many times, if you’re self-aware, you know the right thing to do. Your heart will nudge you to give that team member a chance, but your head will convince you to call him worthless. Do the right thing.
When patience helps you conquer the negative feelings you feel, you’ll eventually reap the rewards. It can’t get better than that.
Do you regard yourself as a patient person? Or are you always tempted to do everything yourself because the outcome is faster? Let me know.
Today’s Task: Reflect on something or someone you’re never patient with and try to be patient, at least once today.
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