Patience is knowing there is a reward and the dedication to earn it.
To grow, we must set goals. Our goals must be rewarding enough to deserve our efforts, but not inconceivable or unobtainable. To earn our reward, we must reduce our goal to smaller more achievable steps, each with clearly defined objectives. Most importantly, a worthy goal must propel us to do more and be more than what we are today. The reward is a better version of ourselves.
To achieve lofty goals, we must produce lofty efforts. Perseverance, dedication, commitment, and patience are crucial for success. Patience is one of the more important of these attributes and required for every step on the path to reward and success. Our commitment to patience is its own reward along the path to accomplishing our goals.
Patience beings with you.
You must be patient with the process, the people involved, and time. Before all this, however, have patience with yourself. If your goal is important to you, you will endure any difficulty, bear any responsibility, and produce any effort to earn your place in your own history. Some days, you may simply not be up to the task. This is acceptable. Forgive yourself. Some days you might just kill it, conquering all in your path. Some days may be necessary for rest. Nonetheless, keep moving forward. Keep working. The goal didn’t disappear, neither did your commitment. We all have strong and weak days. Be patient.
Keep the goal in mind, but focus on the daily tasks.
Winning a competition, getting a college degree, earning your black belt, landing a new job or career, or authoring a book are lofty goal worthy of your maximum effort. But each day is an exercise in not only training your skills but practicing patience. To earn your black belt, each colored belt along the way must be achieved, each with their own increasingly difficult skillsets. Drafting a book involves outlining the direction of the story, defining the characters, crafting subtext. College degrees take years to finish, one class at a time. Tests, quizzes, and papers must be finished one at a time. It’s easy to lose the way among the smaller details, but always keep the goal in mind. Conversely, don’t focus on the goal so singularly that you become lazy about the steps required to achieve it. Be patient. Great things are never free, and free things are never great. Go easy on yourself. You will meet your goal, and when it comes, you will be ready.
Allow for detours, but not distractions.
On the journey to our destinations, we may find that we need to learn new skills, acquire different talents, and meet new people. The universe puts these side quests in our path for a couple of reasons. First, to test our resolve. How dedicated are you to the achievement of your tasks? Secondly, to make sure you have all you need and learn all you can so when your goal is in sight, you have all it takes to continue forward after the goal is achieved. There’s nothing like cramming for a test and forgetting all you have learned after the exam, only to find that the next chapter is an expansion on the skills learned in the previous test. Detours are inevitable. Do not let side quests take you off the path completely. Changing your mind about your goal is one thing, but quitting entirely is a different matter. Stay resolute. Stay the course. Changing your major in college, going to a different karate school, or altering the plot of your book are all acceptable. Walking away from that which will encourage your growth will haunt you forever. Be patient. There is no straight path to a goal, but a zigzag pattern meandering its way along growth and enlightenment. When Gawain sought the Green Knight to fulfill his promise, he traveled the countryside for a year before reaching the castle. We met with detours, not distractions.
Failure is necessary, not fatal.
You will fail. This is inevitable. But the best people fail several times before final success. The best baseball players still only maintain a .350 average. Michael Jordan missed 9000 shots and lost 300 games in his career and is still considered the best player in history. If we did everything perfectly every time we tried it, what would we learn? How would we improve? Failure is not the opposite of success, but an integral part of it. Allow yourself to fail. Permit yourself to fail big. Be patient with yourself. Every mistake made along the journey to achieving your goal only makes you better. Isn’t improving what we’re after? You can only improve if you mess up a little, or a lot. Go easy on yourself. You aren’t perfect, but mistakes are how you become a little better every time.
The goal is the aim, not the end.
A worthy goal is not a one-time affair. It is a step in a process that spurs further growth. Runners don’t run one race and stop racing. Writers don’t write one book and stop writing. Winners don’t win once and quit playing. Once a goal has been attained, it only encourages more goals, more mistakes, more winning, more achievement. I’ve met many black belts who are no longer martial artists. They got the prize and walked away, having met the end. But black belt isn’t the end. It’s the beginning. Most authors write dozens of books and have dozens more in their heads waiting to manifest on the page. Don’t attain your goal and stop. Be patient with yourself. You have so much more to do. One goal reveals another goal, which presents yet another. Vince Lombardi said that winning is a habit. Winner never quit and quitters never win. just by setting a goal and maintaining the patience and perseverance to attain it makes you a winner. Don’t stop with one goal. Keep moving forward. Keep achieving. Be patient.
Patience and perseverance are crucial to become more of what we are. Improvement takes time and effort. Patience underlies all that. Patience with those around you is certainly required in any endeavor. Patience with circumstances and situations is necessary along the way. But most importantly, be patient with yourself.
You are worthy.
Weeg
Joe “Weeg” Weigant is a Holistic Health Practitioner, Metaphysician, and Empowerment Coach. He combined bodywork, energy work, sound therapy, and coaching to relieve anxiety and depression. A balanced nervous and energy system increases health in the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies. Joe encourages his clients to drop the white flag of victimhood and pick up the banner of empowerment. He inspires people to stop riding in life’s trunk and start sitting in the driver’s seat of destiny.
Weeg sells herbal products by Nature’s Sunshine and Pure Herbs Ltd. and is a Representative for Juice Plus. Weeg teaches Karate and Tai Chi, Reiki Certification, as well as seminars and workshops in metaphysical and spiritual matters. Weeg is available for sessions at Tri State Holistic Wellness by appointment only.
Contact by text 812.568.5356, or Facebook Messenger to set an appointment.
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