Zen College Life

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“Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.” -Brian Adams

Who knew Brian Adams was so philosophical.  But he got it right, patience creates confidence, decisiveness, a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.  We are 2+ weeks post Hurricane Ike, and though I didn’t feel the hurt of the hurricane, the damage around the city and surrounding cities and the power outages have given me the grand opportunity of exercising patience.

The great part of it all, though, is that every day people continue to amaze me with their patience and progress.  Homes are being rebuilt and repaired, neighbors are helping one another, drivers are stopping at the streetlights without power, and overall everyone is trying to help each other fix all of the problems that we are facing.  It’s fantastic to see people in such high spirits after sustaining such a disaster.  It really signifies the resilience of humanity, and are perseverance to continue on.  I love it.

Patience is defined as a state of endurance during a time of difficulty.  This I would describe as exercising restraint, holding steadfast, and exhibiting forbearance when life is less than comfortable.  The difference between a man of zen like calmness and a man with a temper is the ability to exercise  patience.  It is the one virtue that allows a person to feel good, to be calm, and to live successfully no matter the circumstance.

The three Abrahamic religions, Islam, Christianity, and Judaism all preach the importance of obtaining patience.

Hebrew Bible: “The patient man shows much good sense, but the quick-tempered man displays folly at its height.” (Proverbs 14:29, NAB)

Christian Bible: “We urge you, brothers, … be patient with all. See that no one returns evil for evil; rather, always seek what is good for each other and for all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14-15, NAB)

Islamic Quran: “Oh you who believe! Seek help with patient perseverance and prayer, for God is with those who patiently persevere.” (2:153)

I’m sure if you search you will find that many of the other world religions have teachings of the virtue of patience.  Patience will lead to a healthier, more successful lifestyle.  People with patience have an easier time creating lasting relationships, have more successful marriages, and generally have a better outlook on life, not to mention the benefits of lower blood pressure, an abundance of empathy, and enabling you to live more harmoniously with those around you.

I could go on and on about the importance, but I think you get the point, so lets move on the some quick tips to help us all exercize patience.

• Reframe situations that test patience into finding ways of looking at things that will improve your life.  I listen to audiobooks anytime I’m waiting for anything, using my iPhone.
• Keep a book with you at all times, to help when you are feeling impatient.
• Remind yourself that the world isn’t just about you, that you aren’t the most important person.
• When you are feeling impatient, stop yourself, take a few breaths, and try to calm down. Use the tried and true count to 10 method.
• Eat a snack. Patience seems to wear thin when our blood sugar is low.
• Exercise regularly to relief tension and irritability.
• Avoid caffeine in excess, as it tends to make you irritable and jittery.
• Get enough good quality sleep.  Being tired is a huge cause of impatience

What do you do to exercise patience? If you have a good tip, leave a comment and share!

Take care everyone!

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