Patience: How to finally overcome your impatience

Patience, patience: how to finally overcome your impatience

There's a long queue at the supermarket checkout, the plane is delayed ... Now we can get annoyed - or stay calm. That's certainly not always easy, especially as a delayed plane can trigger a chain reaction in terms of connections. But getting angry to the point of a heart attack is not the answer either - that would only damage your health. Try to be patient and relax a little with our tips.

via Tanja Seiffert

08/09/2018, 10:03

Geduld - bewahren Sie am Flughafenschalter die Ruhe — Just be patient - you'll get there. Stay cool: Sometimes you have to take things as they are.

Patience - a tough test

But it's also really annoying. When we are forced to wait again. When things don't progress even though we're in a hurry. We then feel even more under pressure, stressed and dissatisfied. In our fast-paced everyday lives, we expect everything to work as desired immediately. After all, we ourselves are supposed to "function" at the push of a button. This makes it all the more helpful to practise a virtue that may sound a little old-fashioned to some: patience.

According to a recent study, 73% of Germans are particularly annoyed in their everyday lives when they have to queue somewhere and wait a long time to do their shopping.

Out of the powerlessness

If we feel that we are getting angry because we are being "robbed" of time, we can reclaim it: we can answer emails, do stretching exercises, browse through exciting books, watch the clouds in the sky while we wait... The point is: you can check your emails NOW. You don't need to do this later and can use the time you save for other things. So try to change the way you think. This is very helpful in situations over which you have no control. However, if someone is constantly stealing your time in your private life or at work and overstretching your patience, you can politely point this out.

Humor beats anger

It's actually quite simple: if you laugh, you can't get angry. If you get angry, think of sayings or pictures that make you grin. Shift down a gear for the sake of your health! They also say that you become more relaxed and patient with age. Bestager Maria tells us how she found her new happiness at 50 by becoming more relaxed.

Mindful speaking for more patience

"I have to" sentences increase our impatience because they put us under pressure. Instead, let's replace them with "I would like to" or "I would prefer it if ...". Above all, let's keep telling ourselves: "I am prepared to accept that the situation is exactly as it is at the moment." In this way, our restlessness fizzles out automatically and we practically train ourselves to be more patient.

Patiently relinquishing control

We cannot influence everything in life, we cannot perfect all processes. Instead of getting annoyed, we should rejoice: life is a wonderful jumble of events and surprises. We can let it happen to us - completely relaxed.