By: Marlene Green, PCC, NCC, Leadership Coach, Speaker and Trainer
Everything you see and read extols the benefits of getting things immediately and with as little work as possible. Take cleaning clothes as a banal example. It is fast to pop them in the washer and dryer today, taking a maximum of 60 minutes to complete. However, for thousands of years, washing clothes may have taken half a day to physically wash each garment and hang them on a clothesline to dry. Imagine the patience someone would have needed to accomplish the task.
Time – It’s what you do with it
Everybody has the same amount of time in a day. Nobody has an advantage, and yet there are some people that spend their time wisely and accomplish great things while choosing to approach each task with a smile and with patience and care. While others allow themselves to become stressed, become frantic, angry and overwhelmed at the smallest setback, inconvenience or challenge. You don’t see a duck squawk and curse the sky for raining on him because he knows that in time the water will run down his back and the sun will come out and dry his feathers.
Patient Effort Has Rewards
There isn’t an “easy” button to accomplish every task. Sometimes we have to be prepared to do the hard work necessary to move forward and succeed. Patience is an essential tool for evaluating others and yourself. Give yourself and others an opportunity to become successful, learn from mistakes and grow. The best managers (and self-managers) are the ones that are open to communicate and possess the patience to advise others on how to improve.
Communication is a two lane road. The secret power behind patience is the ability to listen, to hear the needs of others, and then to help them gain the confidence and skills to satisfy those needs.
Marlene Green, PCC, NCC™
Leadership Coach, Speaker and Trainer
MGA group and individual coaching programs
marlene@marlenegreenassociates.com
http://MarleneGreenAssociates.com