As per the wise words of Mahatma Gandhi, “To lose patience is to lose the battle.” Today we will discuss one of the most must-have traits, i.e., patience, and the importance of being patient. We all know that we must be patient to reap some benefits from life. Sometimes, the process is not like some fast-food chain takeaway. It is more like going into some fancy restaurant, where you have to wait for your turn.
The choice is yours, whether you want to contend with a burger & fried chicken or desire to fill your soul with some gourmet meal. The process of waiting is necessary; it helps to rekindle the appetite, and finally, when you get the dishes, you will be satisfied that it was worth the waiting.
Benefits of Being Patient
Having patience is a virtue, and we can benefit in several ways from this. Let’s have a look at the importance of patience.
1. It Helps to Focus on Long Term Goals
We have to know things are not going to happen overnight. Even with complex work, planning & all that guidance, we must wait for the best result. It is not like you plant an apple tree in your yard & expect the fruits the next day. The process of result is like the process of planting a tree. Instead of expecting the overnight result, focus on the long-term outcome.
Ask yourself what your actual goal is. Think practically & ask yourself, “Do I expect the overnight result?” You can try to rip the raw fruits out of the tree as soon as they appear, but they will be inedible. Later you would realize if you had waited for a bit longer, you could have more ripe & tasty fruits. Wait & focus on the Long-term goals.
2. It Helps to Make More Rational Choices
This is the foremost Importance of Patience. When you are overwhelmed with emotion, you will not make excellent decisions. Your brain can’t think straight; it focuses on the emotion you are feeling, temporarily overshadowing your rational thinking. If you wait a bit longer & think about the choices, you just made, chances are you will come up with an even better & rational choice.
3. Patience Helps You to Avoid Road Accidents
Traffic police point this one out. The impatience of some drivers causes most accidents on our roads. As a driver, Patience will help you to go slow when another vehicle is coming in front of you at speed when both of you are driving on a narrow road.
Instead of rushing forward in haste & having a collision head-to-head with the on-coming vehicle, Patience will save you from horrible accidents that may damage your car or kill you & other passengers in your vehicle. Importance of Patience for the safety of your own & your loved ones.
4. Patience Will Help You to Get a Promotion in Your Workplace
Many great business companies we see today started very small. Some people left their jobs & resigned from companies like Amazon, Google, KFC, and Facebook; those people must be reflecting their unwise decisions with utter disappointments.
Many people become impatient & disgusted after not getting the desired promotion or appreciation after investing hard work & a reasonable amount of time in a company. They resign without the thought that if they had waited a little longer, their aspiration could have come true.
The company would have recognized their efforts & rewarded them accordingly. Or the tiny start-up they joined & resigned because they could see no future for the company could become a multi-million-dollar company someday. Patience helps you to rip the fruit when it is at its’ best.
5. Patience Helps to Save Money
We are filled with impulses in the shopping mall, shopping for groceries or some garments. For the salespeople out there, we become an easy target. Yes, they are just doing their jobs, but we need to save our hard-earned money.
If you are buying some fruits, you don’t need the pack of 10 cans of Tuna, which offers significant savings, or if you are purchasing a T-shirt, you don’t need matching socks to go with that as you already have ten pairs of them.
Instead of saying yes impatiently, think, ‘Do I need them?’ Upon reflection patiently, you will find the answer is no in most cases. Just be patient & control your impulses.
6. Patience Helps Us Not To Commit a Crime
As pointed out by the cops, most violent crimes are merely crimes of passion. These passions come from impatience. Suppose you had a heated argument with your neighbor as they were playing loud music in the middle of the night & they refused to turn it off, you got so angry & impatient that you take out a gun & shoot them or take out a knife to stab them. You will be arrested & your whole life will be ruined.
Suppose you are broke & have no money; you go to a bank wearing a mask & take out a gun to rob it. The consequences are the same. If you think patiently, you will realize that you could have handled the situation in a better way.
You could have tried to reason with your neighbor & if they are still not listening, you could call the authorities & let them take care of it. You could have tried harder to find a job & lead a respectable life. But you threw this all away because you could not think patiently when it was most required.
7. Patience Will Help You to Develop a Better Character
Looking into the holy scriptures, we know that disorder produces patience and develops in a believer a tried and proven character (Romans 5:3-4). Two important facts stand out to think about. Firstly, disorders, trials, and troubles are not meant to kill or destroy the believer but to create patience within him. Secondly, there is no way we can have or find patience except through trials and misfortunes.
That is why they say tolerance develops us into a better character. If you have not been tried, your character is still open to vulnerabilities; no one knows what you can do in such circumstances. However, it is unfortunate that many people’s lives would interpret “Afflictions produce complaints, worries, grumbling, depression, defeat, hypocrisy and backsliding.”
Hence, many carnal believers and aged babes are in the church today. This frustrates the plans of God. Apostle James admonishes the Christian to consider it a complete joy when faced with trials. He said the result is to make the Christian complete and perfect, lacking nothing (James 1:2-4).
Conclusion
In this fast age, we have almost forgotten the Importance of Patience. Our food is fast, and so are our lives. But to achieve something great or to produce some great result, we need to devote the required time & show the needed patience.
