Patience is not simply the ability to wait — it’s how we behave while we’re waiting

Patience is not simply the ability to wait — it’s how we behave while we’re waiting — Joyce Meyer. One of the enlightening & most motivating quotes I have heard so far. Also, most relevant during this Pandemic.

Covid-19, a pandemic that history will remember. To fight it, for multiple weeks, the world is under lockdown. If we see, we can claim that people are patient as they are responding well and we are not seeing any rebellion. People have accepted what leaders are saying or if we talk about India, what PM Narendra Modi is appealing is being followed by the whole country. We are staying at home we are staying safe without being anxious or nervous. There is no mess in people though the economy is getting messed up. Social distancing is followed strictly and everyone is supporting all good initiatives. So, we can call everyone who has patience. BUT as per me or as per the quote, I believe that the people who have patience are not the ones who are only waiting inside the home, blaming the virus and doing nothing but just letting time pass. BUT the ones who are enjoying the lockdown by connecting with old friends, families and spending a good time. Or the ones who are preparing for after lockdown challenges by improving their skills, learning new skills, exploring new paths, and whatnot. Entrepreneurs who are finding new ways of business, growing themselves to be competent, exploring new opportunities in new or existing verticals are truly the people with patience. Because simply waiting will take you nowhere. Rather it may drag you behind by a few weeks or months or even years. We know, we have to wait until the lockdown is over, we have no other choice. BUT while waiting, we can utilize the time instead of just letting it pass.

Let us say you are stuck in traffic. For 5 minutes there is no change in the traffic and you could not move even a millimeter from your position. Now you have 3 options, wait and do nothing, wait with continuous honking and disturbing people or wait, come out and try to explore and find a solution for the traffic to move ahead which will help you reach your destination a while earlier. The choice is yours.

For relationships, it is most important to behave such that the relation grows for a lifetime. It is commonly said that you should be patient to maintain the relationship. BUT patience doesn’t mean only not giving a reaction to a person. BUT actual patience would mean, responding to your loved one in such a way that you both communicate, slowly understand and let the relation grow. Just waiting and not responding until you get frustrated and later detach the strings is not a solution. Rather, loosening the stretch somewhat would help. Here I do not want to talk about how to maintain relations, but just want to highlight to those people who say they are patient that only silence is not a solution but how you react matters the most.

In any business, a common thumb rule is it takes 3 years to get breakeven or to settle a business. You should keep patience up to at least 3 years. BUT I have seen many businesses that got shut even after 5 years of sustenance with patience. Here patient didn’t mean only spending the days as it is. BUT developing the business model, implementing changes required, continuously upgrading as per the requirement is what is expected. Just staying as it is and waiting is not a solution or this action will take you nowhere.

“Yes, my time will change. I am waiting for my time.” This is one of the most common dialogues among so-called patient people. BUT here is also the crux is, how is he waiting, whether he has changed himself? Has he got the new skills? Has he changed the way he used it before? Because if one will keep on repeating the same thing, he/ she will keep on getting the same results. So, actually, he has to be calm and with a calm mind, he has to take proper actions. Then we can call him to be patient.

The dictionary meaning of patience is — Patience — /ˈpeɪʃ(ə)ns/ — Noun — the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious.

Here without becoming annoyed or anxious means how we behave while accepting the delay or problems.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the captain cool, kept his mind cool during the last over of T20 World Cup against Pakistan. Without getting anxious, he planned his strategies and executed them well. That is why we won the match and MSD is called the most patient player.

I used to practice meditation and tried to be the patient guy and once believed that I have achieved to be the calm and patient person. BUT if I look back I would understand that I had not become a patient guy. After doing lots of meditation, I had become a silent guy. I used to not reply to many things and many people. I used to think that it is the way of being patient and replying doesn’t make sense. BUT I forgot that, No reply is also a reply. And that was weakening me. Being patient meant, accepting the situation and responding to it with appropriate action rather than always being silent and doing nothing. Now I hope as realization is the first step, I will improve myself.

If you are attempting to achieve a goal and failing multiple times, but still wish to not leave it halfway, just waiting and doing the same thing as you were doing is not a solution. Here how you behave, how you analyze yourself, how you face the taunts by the surrounding, how you adapt yourself, or learn new ways of preparation matters the most. This is what we call it as, how you behave while waiting. And this is what we ultimately term patience.

Patience is a must at almost every step of our life. Starting from early morning waiting for the bus to achieving your life goals. Everywhere you have to be patient and be CALM. Behave in such a way that you don’t lose your calmness and be productive in every scenario. People say time heals everything. If it was so, there would have been no grudge stories, no terrorism, and only peace everywhere. BUT this is not the reality. Everyone behaves differently when they are asked to wait and be patient. That’s what lead them to their destiny of a hero (saint) or a terrorist.

One of the best examples for the quote would be the life of a farmer. He has to wait for the rain, but while waiting he prepares himself by harvesting the farm. This is how he behaves while waiting that helps him get the results. If he waits for rain and says he would not harvest until it rains, it would not give him any results. On a similar note, if I reap a seed of a mango tree, I need to be patient for years to get the fruit. BUT during patience, I also need to take care of the plant, save it from over burning, protect it from other animals, etc. until it becomes a tree. Just reaping and waiting for years will not give the fruit.

The same quote is applicable for Sales and Marketing as well. When we start a campaign, we have to believe and implement it 100%. If results are not coming as expected, we have to be patient and be calm and take proper actions before ending the same. Correct tweaks help in getting expected results rather than directly quitting or only waiting with the existing actions.

Somewhere a player goes into depression if not selected in playing team, while somewhere an employee is developing his skills while on a bench. In such a scenario, obviously, the one with a positive attitude & good behavior will win the race. Because many times, the situation is not in our hands and the only thing we can do is prepare ourselves for the future and upcoming opportunity.