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“Procrastination is the thief of time.”
-Edward Young
You do it. I do it. We all do it at some point in our lives. Some may do it more than others. But the devil called procrastination has visited all of us at least once and usually, multiple times through various trials and tribulations.
How do we combat it?
For every obstacle you’ve ever faced, you’re still here.
-Anonymous
This is it. The end of the road so to speak. There’s no way out. You’re doomed forever.
Do the sentences above sound familiar?
“Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength.”
-Bruce Lee
How hard or easy is it to have patience?
For me personally, it’s one of the most difficult acts to do. Whether it’s waiting for a package delivery or sitting at the airport, I always find myself getting antsy, especially if things get delayed.
I’ve written about this topic before on a handful of occasions. I feel it deserves to be revisited once again because never has it been more timely than the last year and a half.
During the said time, we’ve all found our levels of patience being tested more than ever for a number of reasons.
Firstly, one thing the whole world has been antsy about is the desire of normalcy.
Since late 2019, we’ve all had to combat COVID-19 in various ways. All the while, one thought has been playing in our minds like a broken record: when we things be normal again?
And let’s not forget the entire mess of the last presidential election. Plagued with controversies, the events January 6, constant debates about veracity of voting systems, etc all fried our brains no matter which side we were on politically.
Regardless of who anyone voted for, everyone had to wait longer than usual for a clear definitive winner. (Some argue about it even till today but that’s another topic for another day).
With all that in mind, allow me to collect all the tips I shared in my previous articles about being patient and present them cumulatively here:
Before we get to any exercises, it’s worth pointing out how being patient benefits us.
According to a study published in the Psychological Science journal, when we’re patient, the end result always seems more gratifying. The more we wait for something (or someone) the less granted we take it and begin to value it more.
Now of course that doesn’t eliminate the unpleasant process of waiting. Telling someone that if they climb Mount Everest, they’ll have a huge feeling of accomplishment won’t make the actual climb any easier.
But perhaps it makes us feel that the journey of getting there is worth it, no matter how arduous.
In that study, most participants, even in the midst of irritation and frustration, had increased levels of mindfulness and were reportedly a but more calm the next time.
According to Ye Li, an assistant professor at the University of California who conducted a portion of the study said exercises in patience are advantageous for self-control in many areas including, diet, sleep, smoking and mental health.
Clearly, the virtues of patience are worth imbibing.
But how do we get to that point of even thinking that way?
The following tips are taken from an article in Huffington Post as well as from my personal counselor for depression.
Are you a patient person or impatient? If the latter, do you have tips of your own to combat impatience? Do you agree with the points made in this article? Why or why not? Share your thoughts and experiences by commenting below on our secure servers.
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“Having a clear mind and a clear space allows you to think and act with purpose.”
-Ericka Oppenheimer
Stop what you’re doing for a second. Close your eyes and listen to your mind. Do you hear non-stop chattering that just won’t shut up even if you want it to?
“The thing about meditation is: You become more and more you.”
-David Lynch
What exactly is meditation? The textbook definition is reaching a level of consciousness in your mind to where you can control what you think. In many ways, it’s nothing more than an advanced level of mindfulness.
“Wherever you are, be there totally.”
-Eckhart Tolle
In this day and age, there’s a myriad of articles, tips, advice to focus on our mental state of mind in order to have more control, if not completely conquer. I myself have written countless posts on this topic for this site as well.
“Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
-Steve Jobs
In my last two articles, I provided a brief history and an introduction of what Dynamic Neural Retraining System (DNRS) exactly is. In this concluding part, I’ll provide feedback from both people I interviewed as well as people who were quoted publicly on whether DNRS proved to be beneficial to them.
“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”
-Henry David Thoreau
Can you rewire your brain so that positive thoughts remain on top and negativity remains in the background?
What is the difference between a reason and an excuse? The words may sound similar, but there is actually a big difference between the two. A reason has sound factual evidence behind it. Reasoning is based on logic. Reasons aren’t hard to understand. Have you ever noticed when someone is half lying, they talk more than necessary? They go into great detail to explain for example why they can’t accompany you to the cinema. If you hear this type of detail, it might behoove you to listen very hard to what they are actually saying. Using this example, I will explain the difference between reasons and excuses. I ask Sally to go to the cinema with me. I begin to get a long, drawn out explanation of why Sally cannot go. She has to clean her house. She has promised her mother she will call that evening. She told the neighbor also that she would stop over. What I just wrote, was a series of excuses. The “reason” Sally doesn’t want to go to the cinema, is because she dislikes classical music. Sally’s excuses are she must clean her house, call her mother and visit the neighbor.
Let us take a look at the definition of reasons from the Webster Dictionary: 1. a cause, explanation or justification for an action or event. 2. Good or obvious cause to do something. 3. find an answer to a problem considering various, possible solutions. 4. Persuade with rational argument.
Daily Wisdom Words definition of reasons: Sound, just, motives with factual backing based on logistics of the problem one can’t follow through with something.
I am going to help you differentiate the difference between an excuse and a reason today. Much of your answer will be shown through the following:
1. for you to determine if someone is giving you an excuse or they have a sound, just reason for their answer to your search for the truth, you must do what is called, “active listening”. Let Sally finish with portions of her excuse, and as you listen, she will give too many justifications as to why she can’t follow through with something.
2. Drama. excuses tend to have much more excitement and issues than reasons. Reasons are just the simple, facts. Excuses, like being late for work, involve things like, “my dog Jasper got sick all over my carpet just as I was leaving.” “My car would not start.” I don’t know what I am going to do with this old car of mine. Last week I lost my keys”. The reason in this case is unknown but it is very simple if I had to guess. Sally simply slept in a few minutes longer than she should have
3. The blame game-This is a good one that shifts responsibility from the person offering the excuse providing an extra layer of protection for their excuse by blaming why they can’t be a part of your request on another person. You will hear these types of excuses when a person is concerned they may be hurting your feelings.
I find it fascinating that by actively listening and watching out for the above, you truly can tell the difference between an excuse verses a sound, logical reason. This is of course not 100 percent accurate. If I were a betting person, however, I would go with these examples and feel pretty comfortable that I can figure out the difference between a reason and an excuse.
Thanks so much for reading today. Have a beautiful and blessed day…Want to read more of these articles? I do not have the only blog on our community website. Join our writing community today for half off or $5. WE WILL MAKE YOU A BETTER WRITER WHETHER YOU ARE AN #AUTHOR, #POET, #SONGWRITER, OR #BLOGGER! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PARTICIPATE!! Speaking of this, how do you feel about what you just read? Do you think you will have better luck telling the difference between a reason or an excuse? Just beneath this article, you will see the “join the discussion” area!! Please, let me know what you think. Do you agree or disagree with what I have written? Leave a comment, poem or quote about reasons or excuses.
