13 Sep Impatience – the unmentioned epidemic destroying society
‘Adopt the pace of nature, her secret is patience,’ said one of the greatest philosophers of all time Ralph Waldo Emerson.
We have also heard that patience is a virtue, but it is something in short supply in an age where material stuff has never been in more abundance.
Patience, to make it clear is, as the dictionary explains ‘the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.’
There is a lack of patience epidemic and it’s everywhere, from driving on the roads, waiting in a supermarket, to wanting that 52 inch all singing and dancing telly, which will be half the price in 12 months.
I’d be lying if I said I haven’t got caught up in this epidemic, which certainly is one of the major issues of modern life.
However, it is a topic seldom mentioned in our 24 7 society, but worthy of paying due deference to, because with patience our lives would unquestionably be happier.
Its scarcity is a huge subject and I couldn’t even begin to do justice to it in a blog, but in business this epidemic is taking hold in the same way as everywhere else with many believing there is an instant answer to whatever the problem.
In recent years I’ve met business people who expect utterly unrealistic results in a ridiculously short period of time or even promise them, and strangely enough some 5 years after I started my business, very few of these impatient sorts are still around.
I guess it’s because as the saying goes, good things come to those who wait, which I suppose means bad things come to those who don’t wait. Just like in nature you have to plant the seeds through marketing activities, water them, in other words keep having faith in the processes though they may be frustrating, and only then the harvest will come.
Having had the patience to stay with the process builds character. What is more satisfying losing five stone because you cut down on your food, and started exercising or losing five stone through a £10,000 liposuction operation?
To succeed in life and business we need patience as without it we are just an angry , and unhappy bunch.
Patience may be a forgotten virtue, but certainly one worth spending more time developing. Thanks, if you’ve had the patience to get to the bottom of this there is clearly hope for you.
If you enjoyed this post please like our Facebook page at the top of this page. Michael Nolan is a former news editor and head of Nolan PR, a public relations agency helping give quality PR to law firms, and other professional organisations needing communications expertise.
