I don’t know about you, but there are days when I find myself feeling quite… impatient. It’s probably more accurate to say there are hours (upon hours) when impatience threatens to take over.
Patience is often something we pray for, but do we take the time to work toward developing it?
Here are 5 key steps that help us develop more patience.
- Pause and take a deep breath.
When you feel your patience starting to slip, just pause and take a deep breath. Maybe a few. This help us slow down our reactions… aka, patience.
- Take the other person’s perspective.
During this pause, you’ll find it helpful to consider the other person’s perspective. Why might they be doing or saying this thing that is really irritating for you?
- Get to know yourself better.
We all have things that just push our buttons. But if we engage in self-reflection, we can often identify what those buttons are, and maybe why they are there. This helps us react differently when they are pushed in the future.
- Invest in time with the Lord.
Did you know that patience is ultimately a spiritual fruit? This means that it is the outworking of the Holy Spirit. Prayer, Scripture reading, and silent meditation will help you draw closer to Him.
- Learn from your mistakes.
One of the most powerful tools we have for self-change is that of hindsight. When you lose your patience, yes you’ll want to apologize and try to handle it differently. But also, consider what happened. Learn from it, and prepare for what you’ll do differently next time.