Do others applaud you for your patience and planning? Or, is tone a silent killer in your world - when things get you down. Some people suggest you follow your heart, when patience is needed, but you’ll find wonderful resources in your brain.
People who plan and who tend to be good to themselves also tend to be more patient – and when it comes to how the brain works this makes sense. Patience is connected to the will to wait and it is also the mental resource that allows people to chug along when the trek is hard and slow. 
The smart skills that grow patience are linked to the brains ability to wait for better things to come. It’s the inner triggers that remind a person who missed one bus that another one will come by.
People who successfully avoid impatience tend to run quite quickly from its harbingers, while impatient people slip easily into mental traps. Stress and its chemical hormone cortisol, for instance, tend to keep your mind focused on the point of frustration. Patience is the outward expression of the chemical hormone, serotonin, which fuels the ability to stay calm, plan and expect the best in tough times. Serotonin gives your brain the ability to idle your motor more – even when you may feel like stripping your gears.
One caution here …. The brain rarely does well in idle mode for too long, and so another smart skill for developing patience is to rewire your brain for it repeatedly, by acting patient and doing something else while you wait for hoped for results in another area of your day. It’s a bit like hatching a chicken nearby, without a constant urge to hammer open the egg.
If you’re impatient like I am, it takes time and a plan to build mental muscle for calm. Each time you act in a patient manner, though, the brain builds dendrite brain cells for this smart skill, which draws from hope which lights the lamp of patience when given a chance.
The key here though, is to be headed in the right direction in the first place, and if so, expect peace especially in light of your own mistakes and others. Have you noticed that people who seem patient with themselves also show it faster to others.
The image cracks me up. My mom had an old saying, "A watched pot never boils." Your advice to work on a different task is great because otherwise you you peddle like $%^, though your gears are in neutral.
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | December 30, 2006 5:40 PM | Permalink to Comment