#314 – What part of you opposes infinite patience?

Humans hate change... except when we crave it

A leader's "sense of urgency" is touted as the root of big business successes––think, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, or Jack Welch. Like other leadership values, this "sense of urgency" has infiltrated our culture and made us obsessed with productivity, fast-paced growth, and an "if you're not growing, you're dying" mentality.

But, what does urgency do to us, regular humans, when we're just living––re: running our businesses, staying alive while our son is incarcerated, developing skills, training for a marathon...?

Even after 215 days in jail, my son remains admirably calm (for the most part). We're all getting schooled on what feels like infinite patience.

But every time a potential change was in sight, we all lost it. I clenched my fists and jaw; my son asked me dozens of questions to relay to his attorney; my husband doubled down on his workout routine.

Why?

Our Ego shouted in our ears: "this should have already ended."

And so did theGhost of Time Indifference, in cahoots with the Ghost of Exertion/Exhaustion: "this is not coming fast enough, you should do something––come on, chop, chop!"

So, we bought into the lie that we had to do something, that in fact we could do something because we had some power over the situation––which we never had.

And we stopped accepting life as it is. We fought reality––and lost our peace.

Next time? We'll do nothing. Not even "wait." Just be. We'll allow. Surrender and relax into the fact that we have no power or control over life––just over our own actions.

Then, whatever the outcome, we'll have the immediate results we all want: inner peace.

When did surrender to infinite patience bring you immediate peace?

Love,

Carolina