There are about a zillion things that could cause us frustration in any given day.  The traffic, the weather, the line at the grocery store, your spouse forgot to do something you asked them to do, your kids didn’t listen, your boss is grumpy, your employees are slacking, and the list goes on and on…all of those can lead to feelings of frustration.

The dictionary defines frustration as:  “a feeling of dissatisfaction, often accompanied by anxiety or depression, resulting from unfulfilled needs or unresolved problems.”

But life is never going to give us perfect traffic, perfect weather, perfect spouses, perfect children, or perfect associates…so if we are always going to deal with those types of situations and people than how do we overcome frustration?

The answer is one word – Patience.

The dictionary defines patience as “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, difficulty, or annoyance without getting angry or upset.”

So if we don’t want to live our lives frustrated then we need to learn how to be patient.  But if you are anything like me, learning to have patience is hard!  It doesn’t always come easy to everyone so we have to be willing to work at it, even practice it, until it becomes more a part of our nature.

So how do we practice patience?

• Recognize when we are getting impatient so we can get control of it.
• Remind ourselves that nothing we can do right now is going to make the situation better and determine to sit back and let things take their course.
• Take deep breaths – I know this one sounds silly but it really does work sometimes to just breathe.
• Recognize you have done what you can from your end and now the best thing you can do is let go and wait.
• Find something else positive to focus our thoughts on while we wait.

The benefits of patience are significant:

• When we are willing to be patient we can make a more clear decision. Sometimes we get caught up in feeling like we have to decide right this second, when really if we would have a little more patience and allow ourselves to gather a few more of the facts we might make a better decision.
• When we are willing to be patient we tend to treat others with more kindness.  When we are patient we are more willing to allow people room to make mistakes which help them to grow.  We are more compassionate and understanding of others shortcomings. By being patient with others we will find we build better and longer lasting relationships.
• When we are practicing patience we reduce our own stress levels and feel happier!  Patience allows us to take a longer term view of things rather than getting caught up in the “right this minute” mentality. Patience allows us to breathe and relax and trust the future.

“Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.”

I for one have a lot of practicing to do!!!  Patience has never been easy for me but I truly think its worth overcoming the frustrations of life, so if practicing more patience is the key then that is what I will do.  What a great time to set the goal to practice more patience in our lives.  Have a great week ahead everyone.

~Amy