Practising Patience

Patience is something I struggle with. (Persistence too, as I’ve admitted!). But if I want to grow and learn, it’s one of the most important qualities to develop.

Practising Patience

In a recent study led by University of Chicago business professor, Ayelet Fishbach, people were asked to choose between winning a small prize immediately and larger prizes they would have to wait several weeks to claim. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 70 percent chose the smaller-sooner prize. I guess, we all struggle with practicing delayed gratification.

A follow-up revealed that those who chose to wait treasured their rewards more highly than those who claimed their prize immediately—even in cases where the prizes were identical. Researchers found another reason to opt out of instant gratification: They noticed that the act of waiting itself actually increases our capacity for patience.

Patience and self-control are key factors in achieving success across every aspect of our lives, including school, career, health, and relationships. The reason is that patient people can delay gratification, control their impulse, and go for the larger prize, which is the key to many successful outcomes.

Ayelet Fishbach

How can we practice patience? Try these 2 tips from Fishbach:

1. Create waiting periods into every selection process, even if you could choose immediately. Fishbach advises: “Basically, don’t make your decision right away. Wait for a while and you’ll discover that you’ve got better self-control.”
2. Turn waiting into a game. “Just thinking about how long you’ve been waiting could be enough to increase your patience and self-control,” Fishbach says.

As with everything that we’re working on practicing patience takes, you guess it right – patience! 😉