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Patience | |
March 16th, 2018 | |
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Someone recently asked for advice on developing patience. I'm | |
fairly certain it was jynx (edit: link [0]), but his phlog is down | |
at the moment. Regardless, I've got some practice in that area and | |
believe I can offer some advice. | |
1. Treat patience like a skill to be developed. That means you | |
need to practice it. It doesn't mean you need to dive into the | |
deep end right away (to mix metaphors). There's books on the | |
topic as it relates to will power, but this is the key concept | |
at the heart of all of them. "Will power (or patience) is like | |
a muscle (or skill), so exercise it (or practice it). | |
Specifically: Buy a Kendama game [1]. Do not just start using | |
it blindly, though. Watch a couple youtube videos to get the | |
idea, then practice it. I recommend practicing it with your | |
off-hand and set goals that are a little bit frustrating, but | |
not impossible. "I will not stop using this until I can | |
complete this challenge at least 5 times in a row." Do not | |
succumb to your frustration. Push it that little extra. | |
2. Meditate. Give your mind some time to relax and clean itself | |
up. The type of meditation isn't actually that important, it's | |
the practice of deliberate thinking that will help. Still, | |
don't choose something frustrating here. This is your mental | |
rest equivalent of the patience exercsises above. Just set | |
a timer for 5-10 minutes, sit down and let your mind wander. If | |
find you are focusing in on any one thing for more than | |
a moment, gently remind yourself that you can come back to it | |
after the timer goes off. Reset yourself by clearing out the | |
brain completely for a brief moment. Here's a trick to make | |
that happen super fast: Think to yourself, "what will my next | |
thought be?" | |
3. Do not expect infinite patience. You're not super-human, so | |
don't be hard on yourself if you reach your end. Try to hang on | |
a bit longer and go away from the situation if you can. Don't | |
beat yourself up. That will make it harder to get better. | |
4. Vent. Whatever technique you have to blow off steam, use it. | |
Using yet another metaphor, think of patience like a big empty | |
tank inside you that can swallow the frustrations of the day. | |
You could keep building a bigger and bigger tank, or you can | |
drain it. Resting does that, but so can venting. Blow off | |
that frustration steam and make your job easier. | |
Good luck, person who I am pretty sure is jynx. | |
[0] tfurrows - All Patience | |
[1] Kendama |