Cultivate and Practice Patience

We all learn billions upon billions of lessons throughout our lives.

Some lessons we’re taught by our parents, like saying please and thank you. They drilled this into our heads for a few years but, then we finally got it. Now it’s second nature. Other lessons come from a physical experience. Like holding your breath when you jump into the pool otherwise, you’ll choke.

Then, there are what I call life lessons.

These are lessons that I revisit and learn more about at certain periods throughout my life. Life lessons you need to think about and put effort into. They’re deeper lessons that will continue to repeat through your life in different ways. All of us have a handful or less of these that continually need work. 

For me, patience is one continual life lesson.

I am not patient. I do most things quickly. I get frustrated with people and situations where patience is required. But, over the past few years, I have worked on my patience as a skill I could hone. 

I have concluded that there are few situations in life where patience is not the best option.

You receive an email from a colleague or boss that gets your back up you. Don't reply immediately to defend yourself. Wait until the next day to respond. I promise you having the patience to think it out will give you a different perspective.

You’re fighting with your partner or family member. You both said nasty things. Don’t feel the need to conclude or “win” the argument. Practice patience and sleep on your feelings. You’ll be much clearer on everything with a little time. And, it’ll be better for the relationship. 

Children have been my biggest mentors thus far about patience. Kids do what they want when they want. You can try your hardest to influence them. You can shout, punish and even bribe. But, at the end of the day, they’re kids and they’ll generally take their time. This means you either learn some patience or you’ll spend a good decade of your life frustrated. At mostly nothing of importance anyway.

Patience is the topic for this week’s post because it has come up again for me over the past few months. I interview with a company, often many times but I then have to wait. Sometimes a few days. Sometimes a few weeks. There are a couple of dickheads I'm still waiting for. All the balls are in their court and I have no control over when I will hear back.

And there it is! The kicker in all this. Control.

You need to be in control to be patient. But, the reason you need patience in any situation is most likely because you are not in control. 

It is frustrating having to wait to hear whether a person thinks I am a good fit for their business or not. I have little to no control of how soon they’ll respond, if they’ll respond and what the outcome will be.

So, I must practice patience and that means thinking about what I can control. I can have other meetings and discussions. I can focus on learning and growth. I can control what I do with the time while it passes.

By focusing on what I can control I can remain patient.

I’ll close off with a relevant quote I read. Not from a Stoic or well-known author but an unknown (to me) politician from Malaysia.

What I’m reading

Alternative Investments to Look Into - Gary Vaynerchuk

For those who follow “Garyvee” on any socials will know his loud, in your face, “inspirational” rants at twenty-somethings. But, he is crazy smart and has often predicted markets way before they boom. In this article, he talks about diversification for the future. It’s fascinating.

What I’m listening to

Shaan Puri on The Pomp Podcast - The Solo-capitalist Starter PackI’m fascinated with this space of the individual contributor. Being your own business. Letting your skill sets drive wealth. Shaan is one of the best.

What I’m rabbit holing

Besides still be VERY deep in the DAO space, I’ve been researching food blogs. If you know me well you’ll know how passionate I am about food. And, how much I love to cook. I’m thinking about starting a weekly food newsletter with a couple of easy recipes to cook for the week. Maybe I’ll throw in some nutrition knowledge bombs on the side.No links on this one but if you’d like to see what I’m cooking please comment below. Or you can check out my IG @jazzapinch.

Something beautiful

Speaking of recipes. Here’s a picture of gin & beetroot gravlax I made for a friend.