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Life is teaching me to be patient (p a t i e n t) and wait. Let’s start with the first, the word patient comes from the Latin pati, which means to suffer. According to Wikipedia, “patience is the attitude that leads the human being to be able to withstand setbacks and difficulties to get something right”. Patience leads us to be better people, but waiting helps us to know yourself better.

You know what I mean, right? I know that if I ask you about situations where you have had to be patient, several moments come to mind. Wait in line at the supermarket, for the traffic light to change color, for an affirmative answer, a special day, a trip you’ve been planning for a long time, or the love of your life.

I like more the word wait. The definition by the world reference dictionary is to stop an activity so that something happens. And although the wait despairs, it gives us the hope we need to achieve the result we want. To have hope is to have faith that things will turn out well, or not so well but eventually they will turn out.

Be patient, wait and fall in love with the process

So through experiences of waiting I have fallen in love with the processes and knowing how to wait with or without patience, and that is how I have been building my way. It sounds a bit like a fairy tale, and you might imagine a clear road, full of flowers and even birds when in reality my way has not been like that at all. It is full of holes, cliffs, rocks and tornadoes but also flowers and birds. All this is what makes it interesting.

We should not worry about things that have not happened. They are always extra worries and our head creates a Hollywood movie. Being ahead of the facts only makes us test our anxiety level.

In order to have a good wait and to have it be on our side, we must first identify the moments.When these moments have been identified, and you need help to avoid falling into despair, remember everything is going to be ok.

I bring you some tips that have worked for me:

Keep your mind entertained

Our best ally, in this case is the cell phone. Depending on the waiting time we have, we can do different things. We have many application for everything. Learn a new language, download a new game, listen to a podcast that teaches us something, send a message to a friend,, update your phone, check social networks, etc.

Reach out a friend

When you wait with a friend, the wait becomes shorter and more interesting. You can share a story, continue an old conversations, play something, make plans for the weekend, give each other moral support, etc.

Go eat something

Thinking about what you are going to eat later, or going for a snack can help the mind focus on something else and you can have a pause to give space to beat the anxiety.

Let things flow

It is very clear that we can not control everything in our lives. We can lose control of what happens but not how we react to the situations that are presented to us. That makes the difference.

I hope that the next time you have to wait, remember these simple tips. They will not change the situation but patience may become a virtue that we can learn to know how to handle.