500 Words a Week - Patient not Passive
In last week’s blog, I talked about a need for balance between patience and trying to make things happen. This may be with regards to work, or other aspects of our life. Something that has become clear to me is that when we talk about patience, we must be careful to not associate it with being passive.
When I think of being passive, I think of us doing absolutely nothing. Letting life happen to us rather than being a part of it. Going through the day-to-day motions, with nothing clear on the horizon. Everything being dictated to us, with no voice or input on what’s happening. Like a hamster on a wheel, going through an endless cycle of the same actions and experiences, over and over again.
Being patient for me is something different. We are aware and attuned to that which goes on around us. We are aware of opportunities that come our way, and when that happens, we are prepared for them.
Being patient doesn’t mean that we stop pushing ourselves forward or stop looking to develop ourselves. It means we continue working, we continue developing until a glimpse of an opportunity arises and we seize it with both hands.
While normally being compared to a snake might be a bad analogy, in this circumstance I think it fits. A snake remains patient, remains focused on an intended outcome/ goal while understanding that it might take a while. A snake remains aware to what is going on around it. It’s attuned to the slightest movement and is ready for when an opportunity comes its way. A snake will recognize changes in its environment when it might be time to move on, when waiting any further will not be beneficial.
“Just be patient” is advise that gets given a lot. Just stay the course, keep turning up, and something will come. I think we can be guilty of associating this advice with being passive, being the hamster on the wheel, repeating the same actions.
As discussed last week, sometimes you’ve got to make things happen. You’ve got to take risks and put yourself out there. So, people know your intentions, people understand that which you’re aiming for. More often than not, it’s with this clarification of what you are aiming for, you will get more help from those around you and close to you. As they know what you want to do, enabling them to be clear about how they can help you.
I also think at times we can become blind to opportunities arising around us. We can become so set on one path, on one direction that we are only open to things directing us that way. We are oblivious to other paths that might lead us on an alternative way to go to where we want to go, or down a different path leading us on a far more enjoyable journey.
