Finding What Works
I have actively been challenging and expanding my patience for about a year and a half now - and let me tell you, patience truly is a virtue. I'm at a stage in my life where I want to begin building a real life for myself. I want to work toward something that I can leave behind, whether it be a business, a standard, memories or a mixture of all three. In order to accomplish my goal, I've been looking to find what works for me. This includes a morning routine, a daily pace, my internal dialogue, my circle of friends and family - just about every aspect of my life. As I have walked this journey, I've realized that learning and searching truly takes time and in order to successfully learn and find the things we desire, we must be able to wait for them. I want to share with you what I've discovered while working on my patience.
First things first, I've had to try, try, try, try, try and try again. Success in anything doesn't come from doing a thing one time. Real success is being able to do something and maintain the same level of ability over a long period of time. I say all this to say, consistency is key. There were days that I didn't feel like it, there were also days that made me question what I was doing all together and then there were days that yielded every possible positive result that I could've wanted. The key is to give 100% no matter what type of day it is - even if that 100% looks different from yesterday.
My second lesson in patience came from the experiences I had while working toward a goal. I realized that success doesn't look like a constant train of wins. Success looks like losing money, being told no, missing out on an appointment, performing poorly and still managing to move forward as if you've had nothing but wins. Failure hurts, but I learned why all the successful celebrities say that failure leads to success. We learn and grow through our failures as long as we don't let them destroy and/or distract us.
Lastly, I've come to understand that patience must coexist with a strong belief in your desired result. Every journey and timeline is different and as long as we stay on the path and put in work consistently, the results will come. The caveat is that we must be present whenever our time arrives. More often than not, people give up before they achieve what they want. I implore you to stick with it - and I'm saying this just as much, if not more, to myself as I am to you.
Waiting is no fun, especially when we've gotten accustomed to instant gratification. However, in patience, one can find great reward. You and I can achieve and become whatever we decide. All we must do is stay consistent, accept failure and have a strong belief in our desires. As a good friend of mine said to me, it's all actually very easy.
