Louise Carroll: We need to learn to be more patient in life
We live in a world where things happen in an instant. Turn on the TV, there it is. Need to know the temperature in Houston, Texas, just ask your phone.
We are accustomed to instant satisfaction. We are accustomed to the right-here-and-now, and the result is that we are becoming impatient people without the skills to handle delays and waiting.
In the day before microwaves, clothes dryers and cell phones, we waited and we didn't know any better. We expected that things took time. Now with all our toys and gadgets, we have lost the ability to wait patiently. Whatever is to blame, we have become impatient people.
Sometimes our patience only extends for seconds. According to computer scientist Ramesh Sitararman: "Few things inspire frustration and ire in internet users than a web browser being slow to load. After five seconds, the abandonment rate is 25% and after 10 seconds half have abandoned the site."
I don't think I'm that impatient, but it's probably happened.
Recently, while shopping at an after-Christmas sale, I was in a very slow line. To top it off I was hungry, not a good combination. Mentally I sent messages to the woman who seemed to be discussing every item she put on the counter and debating whether she wanted it or not. My mental exercise had no effect on her, but it was something to do and she walked away without knowing what I thought of her. I'm grateful for that because it wasn't complimentary.
I consider myself a patient person. Just because I think things should happen like the day before yesterday I wait patiently usually. What else can I do? An old lady kicking and screaming is just not a pretty sight.
My grandson Phillip gets impatient with drivers who sit at lights after they turn green. I say to him what my husband, Don, used to say to me, "Patience, my dear. Patience."
Phillip is not amused and responds by explaining to me about drivers not paying attention, etc.
Since Don said that to me many times, maybe I'm not as patient as I think I am.
I read that men are more impatient than women, although women believe they are less patient than men. Hey, if you believe it; it must be so. We all know that what we believe is more true than any facts.
I get impatient when I'm calling a business or utility and I get a message that begins, "Please listen carefully as our options have changed." I just know it's going to take time. Then begins the litany of 'press 1 for this and 2 for and 14 if you don't know the extension and on and on. I press this, I follow instructions, I listen to horrible music and I get more impatient. There are times when I just press 0 over and over. No, it doesn't help, but it's better than stomping on the phone.
The internet has a whole list of things that make us impatient, so in case you need more things to irritate you, feel free to find more reasons to be impatient.
The list includes slow traffic, being on hold, waiting for people who are late, standing in line, people not returning calls, and slow service in restaurants or stores.
You know I like quotes and this one by Joyce Meyer is appropriate. "Patience is not about how long someone can wait, it's about how well they behave while they wait."
I will try to keep that in mind. We can't help being impatient, but we can behave while we wait. It doesn't do any good to share our frustration with the impatient people around us. I am going to try to behave as though I'm not impatient and make sure no one knows I'm impatient. I will smile as I send people, who are irritating me, not-so-nice mental messages. I'll let you know how that works for me.
Waiting makes people lose their cool and that is not a good thing. Storming out of a store, shouting at someone on the phone, loudly complaining to strangers, huffing and puffing is just some of the things that happen when people lose their cool.
We all lead busy lives and time is precious to everyone so we all need to do the best we can to keep our cool and be patient.
This article originally appeared on Ellwood City Ledger: Carroll: We are impatient people
