THE STRENGTH IN PATIENCE

Is patience still a virtue? A glance at one day in a life of our digital age and one would say not.  We are given to believe that everything we should ever want or need is one click away. When the instant age lets us down or we have to wait or queue for something we expected to be immediate, our disappointment becomes a fertile ground for negative emotions: at the petrol station; in the supermarket; checking in; checking out; waiting for a free table; running through a large corporation's labyrinthine telephone menu (my particular favourite).

Patience is often regarded as 'off the pace' - a waste of time when we should be out there making things happen. The sort of patience I refer to, however, comes hand in glove with persistence and no small amount of willpower. It does not mean inaction or watching and waiting but, instead, gradual and relentless action: it does not lose it’s focus; it will not stop for setbacks; it will not allow itself to be distracted by, so called, easy solutions.

We can manage our own evolution by taking one small but positive step every day: going for a walk; making a point of smiling at shop assistants and bank workers; avoiding using bad language; having a little quiet quality time with loved ones free of TVs and computers; the list is endless. To achieve our goals it’s not a prerequisite to take giant leaps, or to turn lives upside down. Change can be gradual: it evolves, and as such is more natural and, most importantly, it will stick!

If we practice thinking in new ways often enough, we can alter our lives - quick fixes and short term enthusiasm can only lead to short lived benefits, disappointment & regression. Evolution is the key to real behaviour change and such a process replicates how we take on bad habits. So in the same way positive changes can ‘take’ and become our new habits. What took decades to condition our lives cannot be put right in weeks but real beginning can be made - in bite size pieces....buon appetito!

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