One of the things that has always been a work in progress for me is patience. Perhaps it’s the Aries in me, or the Hong Kong blood in me, but in my former life, I loved to multi-task and do things as quickly and efficiently as possible. Later on, I realized how that mentality was often misunderstood as “productive” and how INEFFICIENT it actually is. Multi-tasking and great speed doesn’t equal efficiency. It used to be one of the most sought after qualities in job descriptions. I found that the more I multi-tasked, the less patient I was, and the less I was able to appreciate the energy behind each thing or person behind the force. It wasn’t until I did my personal development coach training some years back I realised how ironic multi-tasking is and also how to LISTEN with PRESENCE and PATIENCE.
So instead, what if we learned to focus on that one task at a time? Since we’re 100% in, we’re likely to naturally perform quicker, better, and be more detailed oriented. We’d be more proud of the work that we deliver. And if we are sharing the fruits of our labor, we are sharing the time and energy behind it to another person. So the question begs, does what you do deserve or who you see deserve 100% of your attention and effort? If not, why not and why are you doing it/seeing that person? And if you have decided to give it, him or her 100%, can you now listen, perform, be present with patience, ease and grace, even if that person is spinning in a hamster wheel?
For me, this year, a new level of focus, patience and mindfulness has been tested through ceramics. I chose to work on ceramics because I’m in a personal “5” year (in numerology), so activities involving taking action with my body and the earth are great for grounding. It takes me weeks, sometimes even months to create one piece of work. It can get frustrating after hours of moulding clay and letting it dry to find that there are deep cracks there not fit for firing, so you have no real choice but the recycle the clay and start all over again.
And the take away is, how we react says everything about our mental and emotional well-being.
Without judging yourself, purely as a third-party observer of yourself, where do you think you’re at? On a scale from 1-10, 10 being the highest, ask yourself:
How patient are you?
How mindful are you?
Is there room for improvement?
What is one key action step you can take right now?
Now let’s do it! Any little step towards the direction you’ve chosen is a win.
You’ve got this.
