A wise man once said, ‘Rome was not built in one day.’ Everybody under the sun envisages or has at one point in time envisaged, wonderful life for themselves. We grow up having dreams, goals, and visions.
So many times we tell ourselves, ‘I’m going to become this,’ I’m going to become that,’ ‘I’m going to do this,’ ‘I’m going to do that.’ Those are good things to say, as a matter of fact. Some of the things we hoped for, or dreamed about, have been achieved; some haven’t.
Living life is all about understanding how to make good use of the time we have on earth. Time waits for no man so wasting time is not an option. If only we can determine how long we have but we’re not in charge of that. However, in as much as we must make good use of our time, we must be ruled by patience, still.
Patience, a Virtue for Success
God’s Word tells us that the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit. Having patience does not mean lacking the zeal to accomplish things speedily. Having patience does not mean not drawing out timetables for the things we want to do and the time frames in which we want to do them.
Having patience does not mean we shouldn’t have a set time for achieving a particular goal. Having patience means not to be driven by anxieties and uneasiness just to get something done. Having patience means being willing to learn how to persevere on your journey to success.
Having patience means even when things don’t seem to be working according to your expectations, we are still sure of achieving that which is not working right now. Patience keeps our eyes on the prize, not the race.
Now, let’s consider the sheep. The sheep is a leaf eater. But no matter how hungry the sheep is, it will never eat the flesh of an animal.
The sheep knows that no matter what, God will provide for it before the day comes to an end. If animals can have faith and patience, knowing that God will provide for them, how much more we humans should have patience and learn to wait on God?
With patience, we can achieve anything in life. Everything needs time, you cannot expect fruit from the day you plant a seed.
A Story About The Fruit of Patience
There was once a beautiful village where a family lived; a husband, a wife, a son, and a daughter. They have lived in the village for many years but one day decided to move to the city to start a business.
With little savings and some financial help from his close circle, the father opened a shop. On the first day of opening the shop, there was no customer. And the first week there were no customers. Even after a month, there were no customers.
During these difficult times, the man didn’t lose hope. Every day he woke up early and his wife prepared food early. He opened the shop early and closed the shop late. They were having one meal per day but they never give up.
After close to two months, they had their first customer. With quality service to the first customer and through word of mouth, the man started receiving customers to his shop. And it was no looking back for him after his first customer.
Now, it’s been 20 years since he started. His business has grown bigger and now has multiple branches across the city. His son and his daughter also started managing his business. Still, every day he wakes up early, his wife still wakes up early and cooks for both her husband and her children. He opens the shop early and closes the shop late. They never gave up!
The moral of the story is this: Time can test our patience but you should never let yourself down. Once we have that never-give-up attitude and patience, we will definitely succeed.
The Role of Being Patient to Become Successful
Patience is the proof that we know who we are and that we believe in what we are doing. Patience enables us to carefully analyze our plans and to clearly see the future. Patience enables us to hold on to our beliefs even when things don’t seem to be working out as expected.
Everybody wants to be successful in life. Everybody has a dream or dreams that he/she wants to accomplish. But a lot of us are not patient enough to wait for the fullness of time so that our dreams can be accomplished.
A lot of people today want everything the fast way. Folks don’t want to go through the processes of life anymore. That is why so many of us, mostly young people, are getting ourselves involved in so many things just to ‘make it’ fast in life.
A lot of people don’t want to endure the preparation process, and a lot of us don’t want to wait on God. And that is why a lot of us end up disappointing ourselves and even our loved ones.
Great scientists like Archimedes, Sir Isaac Newton, and John Dalton were patient in investigating their observations and ideas which later became proven facts and scientific laws that we benefit from today. Great philosophers like Plato, Socrates, and Aristotle exercised patience as they took time to examine human life and social and political institutions.
Great playwrights like William Shakespeare, Thomas Middleton, John Webster, and Ben Johnson exercised patience to think and create tales that we still find fascinating and inspiring today. Patience is essential for weighing our thoughts, ideas, and opinions.
Patience is very essential to the decisions we take individually and collectively.
A Story About the Importance of Patience
Once there were two companies that were competitors in selling toothpaste and toothbrushes for adults. After a few years, there were requirements for toothbrushes for kids. Both companies were aware that the first company to come out with the product will have a higher probability of dominating the market.
The first company, instead of doing field research, took a logical approach. Since adults have bigger hands, they need long toothbrushes. Whereas kids have smaller hands, so they need small thin toothbrushes. They designed and produced the kid’s toothbrush in a few weeks and launched it on the market.
On the other hand, the second company did extensive field research. They went to hundreds of kids and observed the way they held toothbrushes and brushed their teeth. They also took feedback on what kids wanted. After the research, the second company decided that kids need toothbrushes similar to adults in terms of size with some grooves because kids, instead of holding the toothbrush in their fingers like adults, cling to the toothbrush.
Thus instead of making small toothbrushes like the first company, they went with a bigger toothbrush which helps the tides to brush effectively. In addition, they added some colors and cartoon characters to the toothbrush to make it more attractive to kids. So they launched the toothbrush in the market and sold a record number of toothbrushes and started dominating the market.
The moral to learn from the story is this: have patience in building your knowledge and understanding what is required to achieve your goal; never so fast for shortcuts. It may give you instant success but to make it consistent for a long period of time, you need patience.
The Characteristics of a Patient Person
People who are patient don’t unnecessarily compete. People who are patient are contented. People who are patient go about life carefully as they make the necessary efforts to achieve and become successful. People who are patient don’t feel pressured by the success of others; they don’t force themselves to have what others have even when the means aren’t available. People who are patient are not anxious and uneasy. And importantly, people who are patient are not lazy.
Today, it’s so very unfortunate to see that we are impatient in almost every area of life. We’re impatient in our homes, impatient in our marriages, impatient in our families, impatient in our jobs, impatient in our schools, and impatient in everything we do.
Let this message be an encouragement to us all to let go of the pressure, let go of the anxieties, let go of the uneasiness. Just take life one step at a time. And if we must double our steps, let it be done positively and out of necessity.
Always remember, Truth is the greatest religion!