Patience is a Virtue. How Can It Improve Your Life?
Patience is a virtue. Have you heard that saying? Patience is hard. Sometimes, I do not like it at all. I get frustrated, I want something now and I get tired of waiting. Do you ever feel like that too?
What is the definition of Patience?
When I want to understand anything better, the first thing that I do is look at the definition. Patience is “the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.” As usual, it’s a short definition that says a mouthful. To me, patience is largely about enduring something and controlling your emotions.
What exactly is virtue anyway?
Now that we have looked at the definition of patience, let’s look at the definition of virtue. A virtue is a “behavior showing high moral standards.” Moral means “concerned with the principles of right and wrong behavior and the goodness or badness of human character.” So, if we put those together, a virtue is behaving in a way that shows the goodness of our character.
Who says patience is a virtue?
There is actually some dispute as to who first said that patience is a virtue. It seems to have gotten muddled in history. Some credit it to Cato the Elder who wrote a Latin text around 200-300 AD with a similar saying. Others credit it to a poem called “Piers Plowman” written around 1360 by William Langsford. Still, others argue that the “patience is a virtue” saying originates with Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. Whatever the origin, the idea is clearly quite old.
I wish sometimes that the road before me was more clear. I do not know what the future holds for me.
I get impatient with not knowing sometimes. That’s when I have to remind myself that patience is a virtue. I know what I should be doing now, which is taking care of her. I try to be content with that and trust that the Lord will take care of the future.
What does the Bible say about waiting?
Waiting is hard. Sometimes you have to wait, but doing it gracefully takes some self-control. However, Psalms 40:1 says “I waited patiently for the Lord, and he inclined unto me and heard my cry.” There’s that patience part again.
Friends, God’s time is not always our time. Sometimes I am guilty of wanting things to happen in my time. I want things to hurry up and happen, or I want a certain trial in my life to end. Sometimes our trials shape us.
We are refined as silver and gold. (Zechariah 13:9). Do you know what that involves? Going through the fire. One of the reasons that patience is a virtue is that it involves going through suffering at times, without getting angry or upset. It involves trusting God that things will happen not in your time, but in His.
How can patience help you in life?
There are many benefits of being patient. Among those benefits are helping you to focus on your long-term goals, becoming a people magnet, helping you develop a skillset and a reputation for persistence. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons that patience is a virtue – it’s not easy to do, but has huge long-term benefits. Patience can also help you in life because those who practice patience (say that 3 times fast!) experience better mental and physical health as well as build a good reputation.
Patience is a Virtue that Can Help Build Relationships
Yes, among the benefits of being patient is building relationships with others. This can be a romantic relationship, work relationships, friendships, and relationships with family as well. Patience is a way to practice kindness. We could all use a little more kindness, couldn’t we?
How can I be calm and patient?
Being calm and the patient can be hard. However, there is good news – patience is a skill. With some practice, you can learn how to master patience. Developing patience is much like developing a pause button between a stimulus (what makes you irritated) and your reaction (Ahhhhh!). You can try the following techniques to calm down in the heat of the moment:
- Take a few deep breaths
- Walk away for a little bit
- Consciously relax
- Remember to put things in perspective – will this matter next week?
- Think before you speak
The Last Thing You Need to Know About Why Patience Is a Virtue
Virtues are things that are often contrary to our human nature, but that give us long-term gains. Thus, the saying that “patience is a virtue” fits that description pretty well. There are many benefits to being patient.
Patience is a skill that you have to learn and practice. It helps build our reputations for persistence and improves our relationships with all those around us. Sometimes we don’t have all the answers that we want in life when we want them. That’s ok because we learn and grow through challenges along the way.
By, Ms. Sheethal Savanth
