The Power of Patience: How This Old-Fashioned Virtue Can Improve Your Life (Self-Care Gift for Men and Women)

by M.J. Ryan

Overview

Find Joy in a Busy World by Practicing Patience

“This book is a true gift to the world. It's insightful and full of calm, helpful wisdom.” —Richard Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Bestselling author M.J. Ryan details just what living with patience can bring to our lives and how it can change us for the better.

Take a deeper look at an old-fashioned quality. We’ve all heard the phrase, “Patience is a virtue,” and doubtless responded with a sigh, as usually it’s spoken with a tone of reproach. But this virtue carries with it a wealth of wisdom that can actually help us find happiness in our day-to-day life.

Slow the rush. Things move at a quick pace in our society, in both our work lives and social lives. Not only are we forced to keep up, but we have been conditioned to expect instant gratification. Because of this, we find ourselves getting flustered by the smallest setbacks or hold ups―whether it’s a slow server at a restaurant or rush-hour traffic. Ryan shares how patience is the very antidote to the stress of our fast-paced lifestyle.

Reclaim your priorities. By reining in our aggravation when things don’t happen instantaneously, we give ourselves time to breathe and think more clearly. We make better use of our days and allow ourselves to make decisions based on how they align with our priorities, instead of focusing on how fast we can get tasks done. With M.J. Ryan’s help, we can learn to foster a patient outlook and find joy and fulfillment in the present moment.

M.J. Ryan’s book is a fulfilling and beneficial self-care gift for women and men that provides:

• Straightforward, believable instructions for developing a habit of patience
•  A source of stress-relief and guide to happier living
• Ways to find peaceful moments amidst the hustle and bustle that each day brings

Readers of Present Over Perfect, When Less Becomes More, The Joy of Missing Out, or Stillness is Key will love M.J. Ryan’s The Power of Patience.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642504576
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	06/15/2021
Pages:	224
Sales rank:	358,960
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Known internationally as an expert on change, M.J. Ryan works as an executive coach to senior executives and entrepreneurs around the world to accelerate business success and personal fulfillment. She combines a practical approach gained as the CEO of a book publishing company with methodologies from neuroscience, positive psychology and asset-focused learning to help clients and readers more easily meet their goals. Her clients include Royal Dutch Shell, Microsoft, Time, the U.S. military, and Aon Hewitt. She's a partner with the Levo League career network and the lead venture coach at SheEO, an organization offering a new funding and support model for female entrepreneurs. She's the founder of Conari Press, creator of the New York Times bestselling Random Acts of Kindness series, and author of many books, including, Habit Changers: 81 Game-Changing Mantras to Mindfully Realize Your Goals.

Read an Excerpt

We all know about the lightbulb, but did you know that Thomas Edison also invented the stock ticker, the electric vote recorder, the automatic telegraph, the electric safety miner's lamp, fluorescent lights, the motion picture camera, and the phonograph?

Here is what he had to say while struggling with the lightbulb: “I have not failed seven hundred times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those seven hundred ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.”

I've been thinking about patience for years now, but it is only in the past few months that I have come to see the connection between patience and the cultivation of excellence. Here's how Eric Hoffer puts it: “At the core of every true talent there is an awareness of the difficulties inherent in any achievement, and the confidence that by persistence and patience something worthwhile will be realized. Thus talent is a species of vigor.” George Louis Leclerc de Buffon was referring to the same thing when he wrote, “Genius is nothing but a greater aptitude for patience.”

These thinkers are reminding us that genius must be cultivated. “Raw” talent gets us only so far—we must work at a gift over and over again: painting, writing, computer know-how, golfing, love, parenting. Anything that we could potentially become good at requires that we dedicate ourselves to long effort. This is only possible when we are patient with our progress, no matter how slow or fast it may be.

Studies confirm this. For instance, a researcher at the University of Florida discovered that, on average, it takes ten years of practice to acquire the mastery of an expert. That's a lot of patience!

A few years ago, the Gallup Organization released groundbreaking research in excellence. What they discovered, in a study of 2 million individuals, is that people who excel know what they are good at and practice even more in it. They don't worry about their weaknesses, but instead work on their particular combination of strengths until they have maximized them. (By the way, according to their research, there are 33 million possible combinations of these strengths, which means your particular configuration is one in 33 million. Thus, with the power of persistence, you can be your own one-of-a-kind genius.)

Like a fine wine that gets better with time, we fulfill our potential with patience. Through it, we are able to offer our unique brand of excellence to the world. And that is no small thing, for the world desperately needs the best of what each and every one of us has to give.

Table of Contents

1 How this Old-Fashioned Virtue Can Improve Your Life 1

Stick-to-It-Ness: The Power of Persistence 9

No Reason to Stress: The Power of Serenity 11

That's OK: The Power of Acceptance 12

2 Patience's Gifts 17

Patience Creates Excellence 19

Patience Brings Us into Harmony with the Cycles of Nature 22

Patience Helps Us Make Better Decisions 25

Patience Connects Us to Hope 28

Patience Helps Us Live Longer and More Stress-Free 32

Patience Helps Us Waste Less Time, Energy, and. Money 35

Patience Gets Us More of What We Want 38

Patience Guards the Door to Anger 41

Patience Gives Us Greater Tolerance and Empathy 44

Patience Helps Us Have Happier Love Relationships 47

Patience Makes Us Better Parents 50

Patience Teaches the Power of Receptivity 53

Patience Is the Heart of Civility 57

Patience Grows Our Souls 60

3 The Attitudes of Patience 63

I'm Still Learning 65

Patience Is a Decision 68

This Too Shall Pass 71

The Screws Are Just as Important as the Wings 73

Waiting Is Part of Being Alive 76

It's Better to Work At It Than to Buy Your Way Out of It 79

Where Are You Hurrying To? 82

Boredom Is All in Our Heads 85

Remember Rule Number Six 88

Tuning Out Is as Important as Tuning In 91

What Does This Matter in the Larger Scheme of Things? 94

People Are Only Human 97

Some Things Are Worth Waiting For 100

It Will Work Out 103

It Takes as Long as It Takes 106

There's More Than One Right Way 109

Welcome, Teachers of Patience 112

Enough Is Enough 115

Be Here Now 118

4 The Practices of Patience 121

Tell Yourself the Truth About Where You Are Right Now 123

Tune In to Yourself in the Morning 125

When Am I Patient? Let Me Count the Ways 128

Know Your Impatience Triggers 131

Learn Your Early-Warning Signs 134

Take a Breather 136

Climb Down to the Base of the Tree 139

Road Sage, Not Road Rage 143

Issue a Storm Warning to Children 146

Tap Into Your Inner Wisdom 148

Keep Your Blood Sugar Level Up 151

Reframe the Situation 153

Find Something Else to Do 156

Practice with Aging Parents and Other Elders 159

Respond from Your Heart 162

Tell Yourself You Have All the Time You Need 165

Do a Risk Analysis 168

Keep Your Eyes on the Prize 171

Underwhelm Yourself 174

Ask Yourself: Is This Thing Still Flying? 177

5 Twenty Simple Patience Boosters 181

6 Above All, be Merciful with Yourself 189

Above All, Be Merciful With Yourself 189

My Thanks 193

Bibliography 197

About the Author 203

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Many good people, myself included, have problems with impatience and will benefit, as I did, from this lively, insightful book.”

—Rabbi Harold Kushner, author of When Bad Things Happen to Good People

“When it comes to patience, we don't have to change old habits; we can build better ones. M.J. Ryan shows us how.”

—Sue Bender, author of Plain and Simple and Stretching Lessons: The Daring that Starts from Within

“I have been a long-time fan of M.J. Ryan's books and she continues to outdo herself with her new book, The Power of Patience. The book is filled with practical, heart-centered nuggets that open the door to experiencing what we all seek, infinite patience.”

—Gerald G. Jampolsky, MD, author of Shortcuts to God

“This book is a true gift to the world. It's insightful and full of calm, helpful wisdom.”

—Richard Carlson, author of Don't Sweat the Small Stuff