11:11 Waves Blog 2: Patience

Every Monday, I share 1 question for you to contemplate, 1 idea from me, 1 quote from others, and 1 inspiration for us.

Today’s topic is: Patience.

One of my “pandemic silver linings” has been learning more about permaculture - starting and nurturing a (balcony) garden as a hobby. I started this project by wanting the perfect balcony garden… now. I quickly realized that gardening is founded upon patience. Gardening is about working with nature and allowing time for nature to work herself out. Plants take their own sweet time to bloom, to produce fruit, to flourish and become mature. But patience is such a hard quality to cultivate in this ‘instant-gratification’ world. Patience, like gardening, is a learned skill.

One Question for you

Enjoy the space between where you are and where you are going.

Discuss the question here.

One Idea from me

The etymology of the word patience takes us back to the Latin “pati” which means to bear, suffer, endure. Patience is not the ability to wait, but the ability to keep hopeful and optimistic while waiting. Check out these three tips on how you can cultivate more patience in your life:

1. Raise your own awareness

Take a moment and notice times when you lost your patience. My top three moments today were a. slow internet connection first thing in the morning, b. waiting for my furry baby to do her business in the rain, c. an unexpected very long queue at the grocery store.

Once you have gathered some examples, reflect on:

• How did it feel like?

• What triggered you to be impatient?

• What commonalities exist in these instances?

• Now that you have a list of triggers and common themes, what strategies could you try in the future if such triggers came up again?

2. Start small

For one week, pick three to five situations a day to intentionally practice patience. For example, letting someone merge into traffic, starting a puzzle, learning a new language, baking bread etc.

At the end of the week, reflect on:

• How could these mindful choices build on each other to further develop your patience?

3. Befriend and re-frame the situation

Get curious about the particular moment you are in and, if needed, try to re-frame it in a more positive light.

• How can an inconvenient situation lead to something new being available in your life?

One Quote from others

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it”. Arnold H. Glasow

One Inspiration for us

After participating in four Olympic Games with three different partners, Aljona Savchenko, together with Bruno Massot, finally wins Gold in PyeongChang 2018 with the most legendary and unforgettable performance.

“I have always strived to become better and stronger than myself. I set a goal to win the Olympic Games, and I didn’t care when it would happen. Of course, it is difficult to continue after defeats. To do this, you need to have great willpower, desire and a lot of patience”.