Do you ever feel impatient? Life presents us continuous opportunities for patience. In Montana, mother nature had us wait for the snow this ski season. People are waiting for spring. Some of you are waiting for new clients to arrive and give you a chance at assisting their goals. Those clients will wait for results. People wait for a baby to arrive. That baby, soon a child, waits to do adult things.
What are you waiting on today? Let me know.
I feel as though I am chronically waiting for answers, clues, guidance, people and myself. Waiting and patience pay off, but it's not always so easy to see it in a desperate and frustrating moment.
The key to waiting for me is patience. It’s the antidote to impatience. There are many ways to cultivate patience and it's applicable to every aspect of life. For you, the people you work with and everyone around. Plus, there is value to waiting and pausing.
In a Somatic Experiencing webinar I attend this week, the facilitator talked about how pausing with grief allows our body to process it. This is probably also true with frustration, anxiety and the myriad of emotions that come up when we are delated in moving forward. It makes sense.
When I wait on life tasks that can afford it I make better choices and experience more aligned outcomes. Even with this experience, I still need tools and reminders that pausing is priceless.
One of my favorite quotes about waiting (regarding decisions) is from Melodie Beattie:
Wait. If the time is not right, the way is not clear, the answer or decision not consistent, wait.
Here are some of the ways I wait and cultivate patience.
Finding gratitude - This isn’t to bury emotions of frustration and irritation, but to look at both sides. Writing a daily gratitude list helps me be with what is, in the present moment. It’s a habit to remain here in the now and I have to practice it every day, like brushing my teeth. It’s okay to be upset about the dark mornings AND there are benefits like extra rest and down time.
Writing in my journal - When there's too much on my mind, I need to sort it out. I have a list of questions I use as prompts to help me unwind the circling thoughts and it gets me deep, quickly and clears up space in my mind of cobwebs. Message me if you would like the list. Writing down my thoughts also helps me let go of them.
Talking with a friend - This is similar to journaling, but brings in a different perspective. We sort through together and discover clarity. Being together helps ease the discomfort also.
One conscious breath - Then, continuing on to two and three, when my four year old is screaming at me about the temperature of the water I just poured over his head to rinse shampoo out at 6pm on a Sunday night and I just want walk out and go to bed.
This acronym
What helps you wait, pause and be patient?
What are you waiting for in your life right now?
Thanks for reading. Pass it along if you liked what I shared.
