Costly impatience

I had this material broadcasted in my radio program in 1999. So surprised I was when I pulled it out of the archive and reread it to realize that the material is still as pertinent and relatable today.

I have learned the lesson all my life that patience is a virtue. And I get impatient about this. Why? Because the more I wanted to be a man of patience, the more impatient I was in achieving that goal. As I looked back over the years, I realized that I could have avoided many painful mistakes had I practiced this virtue called patience. Today, when I look at patience as a virtue, I begin to understand it a little as I place it in contrast to impatience, which is very costly.

Think about the person who comes up and says, “I just bought myself a new car.” You know that he hasn’t done such a thing. What he has done is to put down a small sum of money to buy a car, which he will pay on until perhaps the thing is worn out and is still paying long after he has stopped enjoying the benefits of the purchase. That’s a pretty high price to pay for impatience.

Another tragic example of the high cost of impatience is a newspaper article about a boy sent away to jail for stealing money to watch a movie. The judge asked him if he asked his mother for the money, wouldn’t she had given it to him? He agreed that she would have done so. Puzzled, the judge inquired why he had to steal the money then. And this was his reply: “well, sir, my mom doesn’t get home until 6:30, and the movie began at 6:00.” For 30 minutes, this boy destroyed his life. What a sad thing impatience can bring.

Sometimes, the most expensive part of patience is in dealing with other people. When some people aren’t well, they become annoying and irritating, and those who are nearest to them have to exercise their patience to the fullest. Bitter things are said, and we have to admit that that is not like the person; it is the illness speaking at the moment and not the wonderful person that you know.

I have seen impatience wield its painful hands in the lives of many employees. Sometimes in their desire to amass wealth the quick way, they fell into all kinds of schemes and dubious deals, which later on would cost them their jobs or would even send them to jail. I have also witnessed an impatient bright, and talented employee who suddenly walked into my room handed me a piece of resignation letter because of a higher paying, higher position job (courtesy of our competitor). She grabbed the offer without checking and what happened later was that she couldn’t stay long with this company because of her inadequacy of training and experience.

Life is composed of waiting periods. The child must wait until he is old enough to have his bicycle or his blade runners, the young man until he is old enough to drive a car, the medical student must wait for his diploma, the employee for his promotion, the young couple for savings to buy a new home. Waiting is not just chilling out, doing nothing, and hoping that things will work out for him. Waiting necessitates the process of improving, learning, and achieving incremental progress that would build-up to the success goals desired.

It has been said that patience is not just the ability to wait. But the ability to maintain a calm and good attitude while waiting.

(Connect with Francis Kong athttp://www.facebook.com/franciskong2. Or listen to “Business Matters” Monday to Friday at 8:00 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. over 98.7 dzFE-FM ‘The Master’s Touch,’ the classical music station.)