Patience...

If I had to name one thing I thought I would never have, it would be patience!  Until recently, everything I did, had to be done right, or right when I wanted, or I would start to feel my blood boil. I had anxiety. I had angry reactions. I would even cry at times. I was letting things that were out of my control, control me.

I'm writing this right now while my work email is frozen.  With the job I have, I truly can't do much without my email, because I do a lot of things for other people. Every request that I need to address, is delivered to me via email.  Right now I am fine. I am at peace and I accept the fact that there is nothing I can do to fix this issue.  A couple months ago, I was not trying to work on myself the way I am now and I would have had, and have had, TERRIBLE reactions to similar situations involving work programs or computer problems.  I would start to panic almost, "I have so much to do! I have to do this now! *Cuss word. Cuss word. Cuss word*"  And I would waste time reattempting to access my work. Try and try, knowing it wasn't going to function until our I.T. department had the opportunity to address the situation. 

I used to be this way in traffic = out of my control.  I used to be this way with lines that I had to stand in = out of my control. I used to be this way in a busy restaurant when we're waiting for our food = out of my control. I used to be this way waiting for my paycheck that was a couple days away = out of my control.  The list goes on and on, and as you're reading this, you may find yourself creating your own list of things.

What I am practicing lately is being positive all the way around.  Being impatient delivers zero positive effects to me. In fact, it's completely the opposite. I have been through dumb things that I have allowed to ruin my day, all because I couldn't find the patience.

Guess what? Patience really wasn't that hard to find and I realized I have had it all along. It's just a shift in how I react to situations.  I always have a choice! I will use traffic as an example because everyone has been upset at traffic at some point in their life.  You can choose to let it get your nerves rattled, or you can choose to observe. Just watch your surroundings. Look at people in the cars next to you. Look at the scenery and see if there are things you have never noticed before. Check out the clouds. Or, if you have no desire to look around, take some time to listen to music and just relax.  You have to sit there in your car no matter what, so you might as well make the best of it. If you're going to be late to work, or a meeting, just accept it.  It is not in your control.

These are examples of things I have told myself, and they work. I just had to be willing to take a breath and listen to myself.  I seem to be far more positive in many situations lately. I am actually learning to appreciate and even enjoy some of the things I couldn't stand dealing with before.

Can you try the same?