*A note for you avid readers of Fiber Guardian- Fiber Focus Friday will no longer be posted every Friday. Instead, I will add to it when appropriate, but I needed to take a break from regular posting for awhile due to my impending move and job switch. Thanks so much for reading!!
Patience
Patience is a fickle beast. I struggle with it constantly, especially now that I find myself to be much more of a man of action than I used to be. I want to always be doing something to reach that next goal. I want to take action now so I can see my results right away. I want to take advantage of the moment and give it my all, but sometimes waiting is the more appropriate course.
We all know the problem is that true change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes time to lose weight, train for a marathon, find a new job, or save up for a new car (or an Xbox if you are into that stuff like I am!).
Patience is required in order to stick with it and continue working towards your goals. Goals are such that you can’t reach them in one day, or else you wouldn’t even bother making them goals to begin with!
Patience might be a virtue, but it can also be the bane of your existence! It can be counter-intuitive to your action oriented mindset, even when you know that there is nothing, literally nothing more that you can do to further your goals on that particular day.
Sometimes having patience means having acceptance of where you are at in a given day. Pretend for a second that you are down 2 touchdowns in the 4th quarter with under 2 minutes to go with no timeouts. The clock is ticking and the other team has the ball. They are going to take 3 knees and keep the clock running. You are going to lose and there is nothing you can do about it. This game is over and you have lost and you know that you need to accept it and move on to the next day.
Your influence on your goals has run out. The tank is on empty.
That 9000 calorie muffin is already down your gullet and you are unable to retrieve it.
So what do you do about it?
Instead of feeling bad for yourself and regretting your decision, rejoice in the taste and the feeling of fullness that came from eating the muffin. Remember that it was not a great choice nutritionally and resolve to do better tomorrow. Have patience with yourself and don’t beat yourself up. Accept that you made that decision and make a better one next time.
To sum it up nicely here is a prayer that I personally love:
“God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.”
- Accepting things that you cannot change, such as the act of eating a delicious muffin that someone offered you at work.
- Courage (and let me add patience here!) to make a better decision the next day.
- The wisdom to learn from your mistakes and to better position yourself for success.
Learning to have patience is a catch 22 at times because it takes practice to have patience with things, yet practicing requires being patient!
I have learned through the years that everything ends up okay. Even if things are crazy difficult and really hard, things eventually turn out better than you expected. I believe that we as human beings tend to catastrophize things by assuming that the worst will probably happen.
Can I ask you, how often does the worst usually happen?
The answer is pretty much never. Things turn out okay in the end. (Unless you are the Jacksonville Jaguars, then you pretty much are always terrible.)
I am not trying to say that terrible things don’t happen, I know that they do! We live in a world of terrorism and violence and we could become victims at any time. But to live in fear and worry is no way to live.
Patience is a must if we are to find true happiness, and I suggest that you start right now. Release your biggest regret or burden and give yourself a break. Resolve to fight harder tomorrow and keep seeking your goals!
I know that you can do it, just like the Seattle Seahawks did recently. This past Sunday, they suffered a devastating loss to the Carolina Panthers. Did they go home and cry about it? Possibly! But did they decide that since they lost this game that they were a bad team and would never make it back to the Super Bowl? Of course not!
They decided to have patience, prepare, and ended up CRUSHING the 49’s on Thursday Night Football this past week.
Pick yourself up, have patience with yourself, and crush the competition.
What are you waiting for?
-Jordan
Patience has always been a struggle for me as well, but I do find that just like everything else, practicing it over the years has made it so much easier to access when I need it. Accepting and enjoying what is – that’s sage advice! Love the post.