You might have heard that patience is a virtue, but finding it difficult to cultivate this quality. Here I want to share with you hints on how to develop the attitude of patience, if you desire to become a patient person and enjoy its advantages.

Meaning of Patience

Patience is the capacity to maintain calmness in the face of delay, frustration, trouble or suffering. In other words, patience is the ability to accept frustrating or troubling circumstances without yielding to anger, sadness or other forms of negative reactions.

Truth be told, exercising the attitude of patience is not an easy task, but with determination and the right tips, you can cultivate it. In this article, I’m going to share with you those right tips which have helped me and all the people I have worked with, to develop patience and achieve success in life, career, and stay happy.

10 Effective Tips For Developing The Attitude Patience

1. Practice Delay Gratification

Practicing delay gratification is one of the ways you can develop the attitude of patience. Instant gratification is the peak of why people become impatient with themselves and others. People want to sow today and reap the reward same day. Doing this will get you frustrated when you face challenges and fail to get the reward as expected.

Instant gratification can be setting yourself up for frustration and unnecessary stress, because things oftentimes don’t work out the way we plan them. Practicing delayed gratification will give you calmness of spirit to wait for the outcome. Practicing delayed gratification gives one the ability to expect the best and prepare for the worst.

Practicing delayed gratification will help you to set long-term goals which will help you to develop patience. Long-term goals require time, patience and consistency to accomplish. Only delayed gratification can enable you to do this.

2. Reframe Your Thinking About the Situation

Another way of developing patience is by switching your thinking about the situation that triggers anger or frustration. Whenever you feel angry, try to find out why you are angry and reframe your thinking about the situation. It’s about turning the situation from negative to positive.

For example, you are waiting for your friend for a date and he or she is not showing up, instead of getting upset, you can use the opportunity to go through your mails, read articles of your interest on social media, or do any other thing you could have done. By so doing, you have turned the potential anger to fulfillment.

3. Practice Gratitude
Practicing gratitude instead of complaining in the face of undesirable circumstances helps one to be calm. Whenever you are feeling upset, find something to be grateful for and you will begin to feel better. People who practice gratitude are more predisposed to tolerate delayed gratification. When you are feeling angry about the difficulties of life, begin to thank God or whatever you believe in for the gift of life, and all the blessings you already have. Doing this will certainly give you a calm spirit and help you build patience.

4. Bear Your Purpose in Mind

Whenever you find yourself in a situation that triggers impatience, remember your purpose and why you started in the first place. Bear in mind the big picture. For example, if, after the interview you fail to secure the job, remember that you needed the job to accomplish your set goals. Thinking with your purpose in mind will calm you down and help you think clearly about the next decision and steps to take. Yielding to frustration and impatience is counterproductive.

5. Accept Situations You Cannot Change

There are some situations you cannot do something about, and accepting them will save you from stress and anger. You are laid off from your employment, for example, for a reason beyond the company’s control, it would be a disservice to yourself getting angry. Don’t brood over the situation, admit its occurrence and that you lack the power to effect any change. Thus, accepting it will give you a clear mind to think about other opportunities.

6. Learn to Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

Getting used to being uncomfortable will help you to remain patient in an uncomfortable situation. If you are not used to being uncomfortable, there is every tendency that you will get blown away by impatience when confronted with a stressful condition. For example, if you are used to trying something new, you will be more comfortable in challenging circumstances.

7. Develop Your Listening Skills

One of the ways of maintaining patience level is by your ability to listen actively when others are expressing themselves. Develop patience by learning to actively listen to others pour out their feelings. Listening helps to understand other’s feelings and show empathy for them. Be a good listener, not a good talker. It’s not easy to do, but you can do it if you want.

8. Slow Down
Do not form the habit of rushing every situation. It’s not every situation that requires rushing things. Slow down. Rushing to get things done will either wear you out or leads to doing shoddy works. Begin early enough and get your work done bit by bit, and by so doing, you are more in control of your mind and situations.

9. Be Compassionate to Yourself

Be kinder to yourself when you fail to get things done as you planned, don’t push yourself so hard, or immerse yourself in self-doubt. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Appreciate and celebrate yourself for what you have been able to do or accomplish. Don’t punish yourself whenever you make mistakes, learn from them and let the past remain in the past.

10. Create Fun

You can eliminate stress and anxiety by creating fun and making your work enjoyable. Daily life can be full of stress and complexity but can be relieved by imagining it as fun. Smiling and laughing always can keep you calm and relieved of frustration and stress.

Read Also: 10 Ways to Developing Persistence Trait

Conclusion
Patience is a virtue that’s worth cultivating. Cultivating patience can be hard and daunting, but you can do it if you want and the price is worth it. Patience will protect you from the stress, anxiety and all negative emotional reactions that come with life. Develop it to enjoy these virtues.