Why Patience is a Must

 By Elsie Mcdonald, Teen Red Belt

Everyone works and learns at their own rate, and for different people, that rate varies. If you are trying to pursue a goal you will also do that at your own pace, and that pace can change depending on how committed you are to your goal. 

At times you may want to give up, but the key to sticking with it and achieving what you want is patience. An example in taekwondo could be a situation where you start your training at the same time as someone else or are on the same level as them at one point, but they progress through belts faster and get to black belt before you. This may feel frustrating, but if you learn to have patience and you keep trying, you will get there one day as well. You will feel so much pride in your accomplishment knowing that you used your patience and did not let yourself give up, knowing how hard you worked to get there. If you learn to be patient you can acquire many more skills by learning to try your best, commit to something and stick with it. Things may not always work out in the way that you want them to, but if you can find the patience to believe in yourself and keep pushing then the outcome could be much brighter than expected. 

Patience pays off in a much similar way that hard work and practice do. In a sense, all three things are related, working towards a goal and practicing in a routine manner exercises patience, because you have to stay with it for the long run. If you do not have patience it may be very difficult for things to go your way, because if you expect to reach a demanding goal in a short unreasonable amount of time this can put serious stress on you. You need to have the patience to accept that it can take a while to accomplish tough things, but if you can teach yourself that the wait and the work is worth it and give yourself the time you need to achieve what you want, you will not find yourself under the stress that not having patience can cause you. 

It is also necessary to build discipline so that you can endure challenging obstacles that may be in your way without giving up and straying away from the goal you are working towards. You also may need patience in much smaller situations, such as activities that you have anticipation for, like waiting in line for a waterslide or reading a book. You need to have patience to finish these simple activities as well. If you practice being patient in normal activities then it will be much easier for you when working towards something difficult.