Waiting. Ugh. Is there any word that feels more like a traffic jam for your soul? We live in a world of instant downloads and next-day delivery so waiting for anything substantial can feel like torture. I get it. Truly. Patience hasn't always been my strong suit. But learning to wait and cultivating patience has been one of the most powerful tools on my journey at GoodExistence.com.
Whether it was shedding over 110 pounds seeing each pound go slowly or building new productive habits while battling old ones like gaming and binge eating patience was the quiet engine driving change. Even deepening my Christian Orthodox faith required (and still requires) a patient heart trusting in God's timing. It’s a skill we can all develop. So let's explore some wisdom to help us through those inevitable waiting periods.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Waiting
Let's be honest waiting is uncomfortable. Our brains crave quick wins. That instant hit of dopamine from a notification a like or a sugary snack is addictive. I know this firsthand. For years I chased those quick fixes through endless hours of gaming or the temporary comfort of binge eating. These habits offered immediate gratification but left me feeling empty and stuck.
The truth is anything worthwhile often takes time. Significant changes don't happen overnight. This friction between our desire for speed and life's natural pace can create a lot of frustration. But what if we reframed waiting? What if we saw it not as wasted time but as a necessary part of the process?
Patience Isn't Passive It's Powerful
Many think patience means just sitting around twiddling your thumbs. That’s not it at all. True patience is often an active state. It's about what you do while you're waiting. As Joyce Meyer said "Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it's how we behave while we're waiting."
When I was working to overcome unhealthy habits and build a new life I couldn't just wish for change. I had to act. I started with short bursts of deep work. I committed to exercise even when I saw no immediate difference on the scale. I actively chose healthier foods meal after meal. This was active patience. It was about consistent effort even when the finish line seemed miles away. It’s about "how we behave while we're waiting." It’s about choosing constructive actions instead of giving in to frustration or old patterns.
The Slow Cooker of Success: Why Good Things Take Time
Think about a slow cooker. You put in the ingredients set it and then you wait. The magic happens slowly steadily. Rushing it would ruin the meal. The same applies to so many areas of life. My journey to losing over 110 pounds was a testament to this. There were no quick fixes. It was day-by-day choices consistently made over a long period. Each healthy meal each workout each small win was an ingredient. The result a transformed life took patient simmering.
Building GoodExistence.com has been similar. It requires daily effort writing creating connecting without always seeing immediate huge results. Deepening my faith has also been a slow unfolding a gradual drawing closer to God through prayer study and community. It’s like Molière wisely noted "The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit." Those deeply rooted lasting changes require time and unwavering patience.
20 Reminders for When Your Patience Wears Thin
Sometimes we just need a little reminder to keep going. Here are twenty quotes about waiting and patience that I hope will offer you some strength and perspective:
- "Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it's how we behave while we're waiting." – Joyce Meyer
- Focus on your actions not just the clock.
- "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time." – Leo Tolstoy
- Trust in their combined strength.
- "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Nature doesn't hurry yet everything is accomplished.
- "Everything comes to him who hustles while he waits." – Thomas A. Edison
- Stay active and productive during your wait.
- "Patience is bitter but its fruit is sweet." – Aristotle / Jean-Jacques Rousseau
- The reward is worth the initial discomfort.
- "He that can have patience can have what he will." – Benjamin Franklin
- Patience unlocks your potential.
- "Our patience will achieve more than our force." – Edmund Burke
- Gentle persistence often wins over brute strength.
- "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." – Psalm 27:14
- For those of faith this is a reminder of divine timing.
- "The trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit." – Molière
- Quality and depth take time to develop.
- "Patience and perseverance have a magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish." – John Quincy Adams
- Keep going and watch barriers fade.
- "Sometimes things aren't clear right away. That's where you need to be patient and persevere and see where things lead." – Mary Pierce
- Trust the process even in uncertainty.
- "All great achievements require time." – Maya Angelou
- Don't expect masterpieces overnight.
- "Patience is the companion of wisdom." – Saint Augustine
- A patient mind is often a wise mind.
- "To lose patience is to lose the battle." – Mahatma Gandhi
- Hold onto your patience it's crucial for success.
- "One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life." – Chinese Proverb
- Consider the long-term impact of your reactions.
- "The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg not by smashing it." – Arnold H. Glasow
- Nurture your goals don't force them.
- "Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday." – A.A. Milne (Winnie The Pooh)
- Embrace a steady gentle flow.
- "Have patience with all things But first of all with yourself." – Saint Francis de Sales
- Self-compassion is key especially during struggles.
- "Patience is not passive. On the contrary it is active; it is concentrated strength." – Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton
- It's about focused energy not idleness.
- "All human wisdom is summed up in two words; wait and hope." – Alexandre Dumas
- Hold onto hope as you navigate the waiting.
What To Do While You Wait
So if patience is active what can you actively do?
- Focus on what you can control. You can't always control the timeline but you can control your efforts your attitude and your daily actions.
- Practice gratitude. This was huge for me. Daily gratitude for small things shifted my focus from what I lacked to what I had. It made the waiting more bearable even joyful.
- Celebrate small wins. Losing 110 pounds didn't happen in a day. But celebrating each pound lost each healthy choice made kept me motivated. Acknowledge your progress no matter how small.
- Use the time for growth. Waiting periods can be fertile ground for learning reflection or developing new skills. Read learn pray meditate.
Waiting is a part of life an unavoidable thread in the fabric of our existence. But it doesn't have to be a period of misery. It can be a time of quiet strength active preparation and profound growth.
What are you patiently working towards right now? And how can you make that waiting period a little more meaningful today? Perhaps pick one quote from the list above. Write it down. Keep it visible this week as a small anchor in the sometimes-turbulent seas of waiting. You’ve got this.
