The Luxury that is Patience

The last few weeks I've been so frustrated at myself for things I can't control. I've been kicking myself every other day as I talk with people and I just find myself in the same hole over and over again...

And why is this we ask?

I'm being too impatient with myself... SURPRISE

Those who know me and know me well know that patience is NOT my strong suit. I'm always rushing into things and rushing to complete things. Now I'm so grateful for the fact that I was able to serve an 18 month mission which really helped my patience grow, but it's still very small in the realm of things.

Something I've learned is that we as human beings tend to overthink, over complicate, and over do A LOT of things. Then when things don't go as planned we get mad at ourselves. We give up, sit down and get so frustrated with the fact that we as imperfect beings could not complete a task that we probably made way too difficult in the moment. I know I am definitely one of those people.

BUT one great thing about this life is the immense amount of second chances we are given. We are so utterly loved by such a perfect Heavenly Father who not only knew we would mess up but EXPECTED it.

So why do we get so impatient with ourselves, especially when some of those things are far out of our control? Why do we mess up and then give up so easily? Why do we let the silliest things ruin our whole day?!

This generation is a generation of INSTANT communication, INSTANT solutions, and INSTANT gratification. We are all so used to the always going and never ending things we receive right away from our phones and computers. We literally don't have to wait for anything! So why wait on ourselves... right?

WRONG.

We are the most precious and priceless things on the earth. If anything deserves our patience, it's ourselves. Now I know I say that like it's so simple, but I know taking a step back and looking at the situation isn't easy. It takes time, dedication and of course, more patience.

And while patience isn't the easiest quality to pick up there are a few things you can do to help with the HUGE learning curve.

FIRST we need to realize that we are imperfect. We will make mistakes but that is OKAY. We are sent here to learn and grow and gain patience! So sit down, take a breather, drink a glass of water or juice or milk (whatever makes your heart happy) and get back up and do the thing! Though you may be imperfect you're not built to stop every time you are incapable of something. TRY AGAIN. You are a divine being with divine gifts! Use them and succeed, imperfections and all.

SECOND take the opinions of others and throw them in the trash... sometimes... How many times do we as human beings seek validation from EVERYONE or just talk too much and when our friends give their input we take it to heart and it ruins our whole day? TOO OFTEN!
Now advice is good, especially from those who love you and want the best from you, but you need to make sure it's not degrading, holding you back, or accidentally making you more impatient with yourself. I once was talking to a friend about a situation I was in and when they gave me their opinion I listened. It sent me down this spiral until I realized, THIS IS MY LIFE. Pay attention to how you feel because if you let others control your feelings you won't get anywhere.

THIRD love yourself. This is a hard one that has taken me YEARS to even start to comprehend. As human beings we have things we love about ourselves: our eyes, hair, ability to be positive in any situation, how great at math we are...etc. But what about those tiny things that we hate about ourselves? Our neediness, nervous habits, how big your nose is, how short/tall you are... I'm sure if you made a list right now the list of things you hate about yourself would be much longer than those things you love.
STOP IT.
We may be imperfect beings but we were made the exact way we were supposed to be by someone so completely perfect! All our flaws, quirks, and struggles were made for us individually and make us who we are! So start making baby steps toward loving those things. Pick something you aren't particularly fond of and look at it from another perspective and love it!
One thing I used to dislike about myself was my height. I'm the SHORTEST fully grown person in my family. My siblings would pass me up and laugh because they're younger but taller. How unfair?! Why did I have to be the short one?! But one day I took a step back and decided to rethink this "flaw." Not once have I ever had to worry about looking at a cute boy and saying " he's cute but too short" but I had plenty of friends that did. Such a silly and simple thought but it changed the way I looked at 5'2" me. Little blessings. So love yourself because there is only one you, and you're fabulous.

Unexpected things are going to happen in life no mater who you are. The amazing thing about it all though, is no matter what you think your plan is or will be, God always has a greater and far better plan. If we take the time to realize who we are, love who we are, and stop relying on those around us for EVERYTHING you can gain more trust in this plan. Faith, trust and patience (not pixie dust) go hand in hand. BUT we can't gain that trust without being patient first. Both with ourselves and others.

I'm grateful for those challenges that push me to be more patient and teach me a little more about who I am in the process.