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                        Impatience Drives Persistence

                                                                                    Credit-Public Domain Pictures (Pixabay)

    

I recall as a schoolboy I was little sluggish, shy and bit irritating as well. I was told repeatedly that I was depicting minor signs of intolerance and restlessness. For example, those days while on the dining table, I would be the first one to finish my food quickly, get up and go wash hands. I recall my late father had noticed traces of annoyance and irritation so much so that couple of times he would shout and say “Are Chinese soldiers after you that you are in the habit of finishing your dinner so quickly?” (Unfortunately the habit of finishing food quickly and getting up from the dining table still continues even when guests are around). Perhaps the Chinese aggression of1962 was fresh in his mind. As I grew, I turned out to be an impatient young man who dreamt all the time to achieve a lot within no time.

 

Once I started pursuing my career pursuits, I realized how impatience was slowly becoming a stumbling block in my professional progress. Being somewhat patient was a prime requirement of becoming an effective and successful HRD professional.  I had realized that difficult human relation situations were essentially part of my learning process and how far patience would continue as a virtue. I hit upon an idea of ‘switching on and switching off’ like ‘blow hot and blow cold’. This meant when my chips were down in  resolving  employee issues , I would try to follow switching off my impatience  and when chips were up, I would try and apply switch on impatience button. Honestly a difficult ball game of camouflaging my emotions but often my impatience characteristics would sail through because I was considerate, helpful and confident . But back home, I would be through and through impatient. Knowing I was the most impatient guy around, my consort had a brilliant idea of coxing me to write on   how impatience helped me in achieving my career goals and wouldn’t it have been better if I  had  practiced the art of patience possibly I would have risen much higher in  my professional quest.  

 

I feel there is a thin line between ‘Virtues Patience’ and ‘Fast and furious Impatience’. Both are important attributes of our inner personality dynamics and also two sides of a coin.  I have observed that patient people are undoubtedly liked by most because of their soft and pleasing approach. They rarely get angry and try to maintain a good balance between their mind, heart and emotions and are quickly acceptable to people. However, I opine that a sizable number of patient people are generally slow (with due respects) in their response and reactions. They take enough time to complete their tasks but are good listeners unlike impatient who ‘hear more and listen less’. Patient individuals generally believe in laissez-faire leadership and are diplomatic and get their jobs done often using their charm. However, most impatient individuals are fast and actions oriented and want results yesterday. They are generally somewhat aggressive and believe in autocratic leadership. They are often straight from the mouth, transparent and generally call a spade a spade.

 

Isn’t it right that those of us, who are goal centric, are often brash and reckless when objectives and desires are not met instantaneously? Impatience essentially is irritation with anything that causes delays and leads one to become restless. Impatient individuals don’t believe in waiting and are usually unable to sit stretched like a lame duck and wait endlessly. They are always action oriented.  Impatience is surely considered negative trait with everyone except those who are persistent driven, pushy and always focused on goals and its results. They are totally averse to laid back attitude and believe in competitiveness no matter what the hurdles are on the way. I feel it is an emotion that arises when one becomes extreme restless to perform. It also signifies the intense fire in impatient individual’s belly that becomes the hallmark of his/her achievements. Impatience is similar to the mental state of a non swimmer when he is thrown suddenly in a swimming pool. He can go down but he gets desperate for his life and in this process he starts becoming persistent to remain floating by moving his hands and legs.  Impatient people often make use of ammunitions such as hard slog, pledge and devotion and resort to anxious measures when their goal appears fading away.  In the words of Late Maya Angelou, an American poet, “I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life's a bitch. You've got to go out and kick ass.” Impatience surely teaches flexibility of bending; not breaking but keep walking to the destination come what may.   

                                                                   Photo by Aditya Kachru

 I strongly feel that unless one is impatient and risk prone, one will never face success and failures which are important phases to grow in career as also otherwise. Oh!   Yes impatient individuals may have to face failures often. But it does not dither them instead makes them rock solid to understand the natty gratis and act sensibly next time. Being impatient no way means standing on the head of the team members or others nor does it mean throwing tantrums. Impatience has to be in line with our objectives and their attainments. When we experience the right amount of anxiety and force, we try hard to put in our best. However, if there's too much or too little stress, then performance can suffer? The amount of force and anxiety is directly proportionate to our response, grit and courage. It is our inner personality dynamics that plays a leading role in performing under stressful conditions. 

What type of mind-set and psychological response one has developed over the years makes all the difference? The degree of impatience varies from individual to individual and off course may also be situational. On the contrary some individual’s are overtly patient enough to accept delays. Well less or more, impatience and patience is both relative in characteristics. However, too much impatience may often lead to rash approach to a problem resulting in wrong decisions. Similarly too much patience may all the more lead to weakness, tardiness and pursuing wrong plans of action.  Obviously too much impatience and rash behaviors are generally considered bad for one’s health and therefore  one needs to keep tab on it.

Impatience Aids Motivation

Impatient people are motivated to perform at all costs. They just see their goal, prioritize, plan action and keep thinking how soon to accomplish these. Motivation makes them obsessive and fanatical. Slowness and idleness is never ever part of the impatient individuals.  They plan their route, know where they’re going. Impatient are not willing to wait but instead create self-motivation through inner drive to go for the kill. They don’t ‘stand at ease’ and gaze at people who pass by  

 

Impatience Drives Persistence

Persistence is the impatient individual’s capability to ram and push toward the close line, even if the close line looks out of his/her attainment. It's about their resolve and firmness and being impatient plays an important role.

 

Impatience Drives Passion

Impatience drives one to try new opportunities in his/her career and no way believes in maintaining status co. It discourages undertaking routine work and doing the same assignment year after year. Impatient individual’s     slog and are always ready to take risk, not fearing their failure and losing what they are comfortable doing at. It helps create a strong sensation that generates push within to rush forward to fire appetite that power to perform even during adversities? Honestly impatience makes one get so passionate about his/her goal that often they get up in the middle of the night and start pursuing the goal.

 

Inpatient's Rare to go

Impatience will always remain an asset and impatient people don’t wait for things to happen. They have an inbuilt quality of eagerness to make things happen no matter what may happen. They also prompt people around to fall in line by generating confidence and moral boosting. Impatient individuals are often dreamers and keep their minds always engaged in visualizing, planning, implementing and accomplishing goals. Often their dreams come true and are found becoming role models and bench mark for others.  

 

Inpatient's are Resolute

Impatience   often creates an inner force that drives and lashes out on the back of the individual, making him/her run like a race horse to achieve the goal. Often this is missing in patient individuals as their hallmark. The impatient one’s are always on the lookout for proving their stubbornness and unyielding character and eagerly want to see transformations.

 

I firmly believe that one shouldn’t wait endlessly for things to happen. Instead make sure that things happen in such a way that impatience truly shows that it is an asset of good value and challenges virtuous patience. If we are too patient, possibly we may   throw away vast part of our precious time following the wrong objective and goal in a sluggish mode.  As Dwayne Johnson, an American actor and wrestler say that, “The wall! Your success is on the other side. Can’t jump over it or go around it. You know what to do.” 

 

To tap it- The impatient persons take the wheel, shoves and pushes life in the direction they want it to go. Remember “He who is not impatient is not in love”.

 

Bhushan Kachru

 

Readers are welcome to disagree with author’s views and opinion on the subject and instead send their views which will be gladly published to initiate a fruitful and educative dialogue for the larger benefit of readers.

 

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