It doesn’t seem obviously apparent, but there is a connection between patience and resilience. Patience can be defined as the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. Resilience is their ability to recover quickly from difficulties and challenges we encounter.
So what’s the link?
Patience is a marker of resilience.
The more we are able to tolerate and withstand circumstances in their lives without an angry response, the more indicative that is of their ability to endure tough circumstances and recover from them with speed and ease (Sood, 2019). Thus, taking the time to strengthen one’s patience skills subsequently strengthens one’s resilience.
How to Cultivate Patience in the Workplace
Since patience is so critical to the development of resilience, it’s important to pursue opportunities to train your workforce to increase their patience. There are many ways to cultivate patience in their daily routines. The following outlines a few key techniques for developing and implementing patience into their work habits on a consistent basis.
- Wait: This may seem like a common-sense solution or it may seem counterintuitive (or even childish), but the practice of making yourself wait actually does develop patience over time. Much like their physical muscles, patience is a mental/emotional muscle that when worked will get stronger. By making your staff wait they demonstrate to you that they are able to endure without being reactive (Power, 2017). This practice can begin by making them wait just a few minutes and over time gradually increased to making them wait a few weeks, months, or even years.
- Embrace the Discomfort: Let’s face it- there is nothing comfortable about waiting. The typical response to discomfort is to run from it or try to avoid it. However, choosing to embrace the discomfort is where the real growth comes from. Learning to embrace the discomfort that waiting brings and become more comfortable with the uncomfortable is actually a strong way to build patience and endurance according to therapist Jane Bolton, Psy.D. (Holmes, 2017).
- Reframing: Often the root of impatience is the focus on what your workers don’t presently have. Reframing is the practice of intentionally changing the way a situation is viewed. When you reframe situations to shift from what they are lacking to focus on another aspect of the situation, such as how the waiting is stretching them and challenging us for the better, then they are put in a position where they are better able to wait and build patience. As a result, their increased patience leads to increased resilience (DiGiulio, 2019).
- Calming Techniques: When all else seems to fail, resorting to the use of calming techniques can be a great way to help increase their patience. These techniques can include breathing, meditation, walking, or other similar methods. The goal of these methods is to engage in a practice that helps them to cope with feelings of anxiety or anger caused by impatience (Power, 2017). By learning to implement a calming technique at the onset of feelings of stress, you enhance their ability to become more tolerant and thus become more resilient.
Ultimately, those who are able to cultivate more patience will be better equipped to be more resilient. In learning to deal with their somewhat innate desire to be instantly gratified and the feelings of anxiety and anger that can often accompany waiting, they learn to become more tolerant and endure more things that are challenging and unpleasant.
This, therefore, sets the stage for someone to quickly recover from hardships and cope with unpleasantries in a healthy manner. With this in mind, you should make it a goal to find ways to increase your workforce’ patience so that they can become more resilient in their daily work activities.
References:
DiGiulio, S. (2019, July 9). How to train yourself to be more patient. Retrieved from https://www.nbcnews.com/better/lifestyle/how-train-yourself-be-more-patient-ncna1022356
Holmes, L. (2017, December 7). 5 tricks to becoming a more patient person. Retrieved from https://www.huffpost.com/entry/patience-tips_n_5843928
Power, R. (2017, October 24). 4 tips to help you be a more patient person, science says you will be happier. Retrieved from https://www.inc.com/rhett-power/4-tips-to-help-you-be-a-more-patient-person-science-says-you-will-be-happier.html
Sood, A. (2019, September 17). The essential skills that boost resilience | Everyday health. Retrieved from https://www.everydayhealth.com/wellness/resilience/essential-skills-that-make-you-resilient/