Anyone who has pursued a goal has had to deal with impatience. There are few things more maddening than knowing that you’re doing what you need to do, yet you’re not getting the result you desire. Been there, done that.
Often we realize that impatience is irrational, that it’s not logical; yet, emotionally it haunts us. The question is: How can we deal with the emotional aspects of our impatience?
Driving analogy
Our feelings of impatience are akin to driving without any rearview mirrors. The only thing we can see is in front of us…a lot of road to cover before reaching our destination. The miles seem long even though we’re continuously making progress.
Our impatience is the result of looking only ahead to the desired outcome which is not coming as quickly as we’d like…despite persistent, well-focused effort on our part. What’s missing is what we’d see if we looked in the rearview mirror.
We’d see the clarity we’ve gained about our ultimate goal, what it takes to get there, the fact that we’re putting this newly-found knowledge to work for us. In other words, because we aren’t looking in the rearview mirror we’re not seeing the progress we’ve made, the clarity we gained, the lessons we’ve learned which are propelling us to our goal…and future goals as well.
Impatience is easier to deal with when we occasionally look in the rearview mirror.
Takeaway
When you’re experiencing impatience, pause a moment. Remind yourself of all that you’ve learned and how what you’ve learned has helped you feel confident that you’re doing all the things necessary to achieve your goal.
Then, imagine what you might learn going forward during the interval before you accomplish your goal. Notice I didn’t say “if;” I said “before.” You success is assured, and often occurs more quickly when you deal effectively with the impatience you’re feeling.
This mindset of appreciating what you’ve already accomplished combined with a curiosity about what you’ll learn going forward makes your journey seem shorter, fun and exciting. That’s a stark contrast to the angst and frustration you feel while impatient.
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Resources
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