The Problem With Patience

“Patience is a virtue.”

“All good things come to those who wait.”

“If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.”

We’ve all heard these ideas again and again…(the third one isn’t as famous, but it’s good!)

We KNOW these things to be true, there’s a part of us that understands it, believes it, feels the wisdom behind it…

Yet… Many of us have a problem with patience.

When push comes to shove (i.e. daily life) it goes right out the window!

We need it NOW. We need to be skinnier NOW, healthier NOW, richer NOW, happier NOW.

NOW, NOW, NOW…

I know, annoying to even read it, you can feel the urgent energy of it (that’s why I capitalized it!)

You can feel how exhausting it is…

But what do we do?

How do we practice patience?

How do we make it a reality?

What do we do about the part of us that is screaming like a toddler…

“But I don’t want to be patient!!! I want it now!!!”

Two steps:

1. Acknowledge that this part of you exists. Just saying, “Yup, I’m not being patient…” can be enough to trigger change.

2. Tap to release those anxious feelings.

Here’s some quick tapping you can do right now.

First, identify what you’re being impatient about. Give it a number on the 0-10 scale, for how impatient you’re being. Now tap along!

(If you’re new to the tapping, you can see a demonstration of the process by going here.)

Through the points…

Karate Chop: Even though I’m being so impatient, I deeply and completely accept myself

Karate Chop: Even though I can’t relax, and it has to be done now, I deeply and completely accept myself

Karate Chop: Even though I don’t want to be patient, I deeply and completely accept myself

Eyebrow: I can’t be patient
Side of the Eye: Need it done now
Under the Eye: I don’t want to wait
Under the Nose: I need it now
Under the Mouth: Patience drives me crazy!
Collarbone: No time for patience
Under the Arm: Who has time to be patient?!
Top of the head: All this stress about it happening now

Back to the eyebrow, with some positive statements, but only if you feel the positive statements “land” or feel partially true. If not, keep tapping on the negative or “my truth now” feelings until those shift.

Eyebrow: Patience IS a virtue
Side of the Eye: I wonder how I can cultivate some patience
Under the Eye: It feels good to be patient
Under the Nose: It feels safe to be patient
Under the Mouth: It’s time for me to be patient
Collarbone: I choose to be patient now
Under the Arm: Feeling calm and patient
Top of the Head: Feeling calm and patient now

That’s just two rounds, so keep repeating either with this language or with your own until you find relief.

You may also wish to tap along with some of the meditations in The Tapping Solution App. Three categories I’d recommend are the “Turn Your Day Around” series, the “I’m Stressed About…” series, and the “Instant Boost” series.

The truth is… Patience IS a virtue…

A beautiful one, that can guide your life and bring with it an inner peace that we all crave.

Tap to find that patience and then cultivate it.

Feel it… BE the patience… Flow with patience…

Experience the magic of patience!

Until next time…

Patiently yours… 🙂

Nick Ortner