Ernie O Dacumos If I am being honest, it took me a long time to learn the power of patience. But it is one of the things I learned when I was a kid. Confusing right?
As you know by now, I came from the Philippines. Unlike here in America, everything back home is very slow. If you want to do something, you have to start early in the day to finish it by the end of the day.
I remember applying for dual citizenship while I was there. I had to travel from my hometown to Manila (Capital City) early in the morning as it takes 4-6 hours to get there.
Once at the Philippine consulate, I had to stand in a long line. Wait for my turn. Fill out the necessary documents. Had it notarized. Stand in another line for the cashier to pay the fee. And then I have to wait 8 months for them to verify my identity. Came back 12 months later to fill out the final documentation. And get the documentation as a dual citizen.
Yes, it was a long process and what got me through that was the power of patience.
Instant Gratification
But now, we live in a world with instant gratification. You can now have your grocery delivered. We used to wait for the mail to come, but now we can communicate via cell phones. Our ancestors used to travel days to get from one location to another. We have planes that will take a few hours to get to another location.
We have come so far when it comes to having access to a lot of things. In this, I noticed it reduces my patience.
I want everything here. Now. Not realizing that even though we’ve come so far, there are things that cannot be easily obtained. And rushed.
You cannot speed up the process of how a baby develops in a mother’s womb, we still have to wait 9 months for that.
Having a successful business does not happen overnight, it takes time.
And personal growth and healing do not happen over a weekend. You have to constantly grow and work on yourself on a daily basis.
Once I’ve learned the power of patience again, I’ve learned to recognize a lot of things.
The power of patience
- Patience helped me realize that anything worth doing takes time
- Not everything has to happen right at that moment
- Patience helps you to stop and reflect on your journey
The Power of Patience helped me realize that anything worth doing takes time
Everything worth doing takes time.
You have to write a hundred bad songs before you write one good one. And you have to sacrifice a lot of things that you might not be prepared for.
Like it or not, you are in this alone and have to follow your own star.
Bob Dylan
You heard that right. Anything worth doing takes time. As I’ve used the examples above; having a baby, building a business, and personal healing. And I am sure there are more examples that anything worth doing takes time.
I moved to this country when I was 17 years old. I understood the language but was not comfortable speaking it. Fast forward 17 years, I am now fluent with a bit of my accent. And typing this blog post for you.
An artist needed to wait for the paint to dry to put another layer on the canvas. So, yes, everything worth doing takes time. And a lot of it. As I have mentioned before in my blog post “5 Reasons why it’s important to invest in yourself”. Investing in yourself means investing your time, money, and effort.
Not everything has to happen right at the moment
Again, going back to instant gratification, a lot of things are given to us. Or handed to us in a matter of minutes or hours but not everything has to.
Because again, if everything is handed to you. Then it loses its value.
Reflect on this, say there is a car that you wanted to buy so bad but had to save money for it. The longer it takes for you to get that car and the harder you work for it builds up its value. And once you’ve bought it. You will take care of it even more.
But if you were able to just buy the car. No hard work is needed. You can afford it. Once you’ve bought it, the value of that car lessens and you will strive to obtain another one.
The Power of Patience helps you to stop and reflect on your journey
Also, nowadays, advertisements show that you can get something quickly. Pizza deliveries with a promise that if not delivered it’s free. We are now given 15-minute exercises on TV with a pledge to help us have the body we wanted. We’re always in constant motion and in a hurry that we do not think to stop and reflect.
Having patience helps us be in the moment. Reflect on what you currently have and make a better and wiser decision.
So there it is. Why the power of patience is important in everything you do. I challenge you to reflect on your day-to-day activity See where you practice the power of patience. And see where you practice instant gratification.
I would love to have your input on this post and please share this with those whom you think may need to read it as well. Let’s spread positivity and growth.
