The Power of Patience: Nurturing the Art of Waiting
Firstly, how cute is Lacey Jane with her two new friends?! (Lacey is on the left.)
She loves going for walks and we try to go around dusk when the light is shifting from blues to mauves, pinks and purples. I love watching the kaleidoscope of colours shift as the evening descends.
With the holiday season upon us, I've been thinking about how patience can sometimes feel like a rare commodity. We often don't pay much attention to it until we find ourselves running out of it—on hold, stuck in traffic, or waiting in long lines! These situations can test our nerves, making us acutely aware of our diminishing reserves.
However, here's the good news, patience isn't a finite resource. It's a skill that can be cultivated and strengthened. This week, I thought we'd explore the art of patience and discover some simple ways to nurture this helpful attribute.
Nervous System Regulation
When it comes to cultivating patience, the role of our nervous system is paramount. The intricate dance between our thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations is orchestrated by a remarkable player, the vagus nerve.
Delving into the realm of Polyvagal theory and the science of self-regulation, over the past few years I've discovered more about how awareness, mindfulness, and evidence-based techniques can support us in cultivating a more resilient nervous system, and thus, cultivate more patience. By harnessing the power of our nervous system, we can shift from reactivity to responsiveness, from being triggered to choosing how we respond in the present moment.
Understanding Patience: A Virtue Worth Cultivating
Patience is a powerful tool that not only enhances relationships and reduces stress, it also fosters a sense of inner calm.
Patience isn't just about waiting, it's actually about how we behave while we wait. It's a practice rooted in mindfulness, self-control, and empathy. Cultivating patience doesn't mean suppressing frustration, rather, it involves acknowledging our feelings, supporting our nervous system and intentionally setting ourself up to be able to respond calmly and thoughtfully when stressful moments or situations occur.
Embracing the Present Moment
One of the keys to cultivating patience is embracing the present moment. Often, impatience arises from a desire to be somewhere else or doing something else. By practising mindfulness, we learn to appreciate the beauty of the present, even in mundane or challenging situations.
Take a few deep breaths, observe your surroundings, and find something to be grateful for in the moment. This simple act can transform impatience into acceptance. Sometimes I find simply taking a few deep breaths and settling my attention on what is unfolding around me, tuning into my five senses, is enough to release any feelings of pent-up frustration if I catch it in time.
Developing Self-Compassion
Impatience with others often reflects impatience with ourselves. Developing self-compassion allows us to be kind and understanding toward our own imperfections and limitations. It's helpful to acknowledge to ourselves that it's natural to feel impatient at times, and instead of self-criticism, respond with self-compassion. We can practice giving ourselves the same patience and understanding we would give to a close friend facing a similar situation.
Practicing Empathy
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. Cultivating patience involves putting ourself in someone else's shoes and recognising their perspectives and struggles. When we empathise with others, we're more likely to respond with patience and understanding, fostering positive interactions and relationships. So the next time someone cuts us off in traffic, we can decide to imagine perhaps they are rushing to the hospital or some other urgent cause.
Tips for Cultivating Patience:
Practice Deep Breathing: When you feel impatience rising, take a few deep breaths. Deep breathing calms the nervous system and provides a moment of pause to gather your thoughts.
Develop a Patience Reminder: Create a mantra or phrase that resonates with you and reminds you to be patient. Repeat it to yourself in challenging situations to anchor yourself in patience. I like to repeat the phrase, "It's ok. You are safe," to myself in times of stress.
Engage in Relaxation Techniques: Explore relaxation techniques such as meditation, watercolours, zen doodling, yoga, or sketching outdoors. These practices not only enhance patience but also promote overall well-being. If you'd like some ideas on how to begin these, we have wonderful workshops guiding you in the Creative Hearts Community.
Seek Perspective: Consider the bigger picture in frustrating situations. Will this matter in a day, a week, or a year? Sometimes gaining perspective can diffuse our feelings of impatience.
This week, as the holiday season amps up, I'm going to be consciously be focusing on cultivating patience. Perhaps you'd like to join me, and we can do it together? By nurturing this attribute, we can navigate life's challenges (and the holiday season!) with more grace, peacefulness, and a deeper sense of calm.
Wishing you a week filled with patience, mindfulness, and gentleness.
Be kind to yourself and nurture your creativity.
With my warmest wishes,
Nicola
About Nicola Newman
I'm a Creative Business Coach, Award-Winning Artist & Mentor for Creative Hearts who want to flourish, flow & prosper.
My passion is inspiring and supporting Creative Hearts to trust their inner wisdom and carve out a life that’s personally meaningful and fulfilling to them.
I share practical, evidence-based tools for Creative Hearts seeking to improve their lives or businesses. My work draws from acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based techniques, body-based practices, and neuroscience -- and my own creative living adventures -- among other approaches.
My mission is to support Creative Hearts to:
Dissolve creative blocks, develop a loving relationship with themselves, nurture their creativity and reframe the beliefs and patterns that keep them from following their heart and making the creative contribution they would love to make in the world.
My approach is to embrace gentleness, playfulness and self-care to navigate self-doubt and instead cultivate deep self-trust so you can truly enjoy the creative process, bring together your body of work, make money doing what you love and leave a creative legacy you’re proud of.
Let’s pour a cuppa and get to know one another, shall we? :) Read more about my story here.
