4 Tips to Help You Be a More Patient Person, Science Says You Will be Happier

We could all use a little more patience, especially in the fast-paced world we live in.

Think about it for a minute. We all want instant gratification and want things without waiting. We expect packages delivered the same day. We expect immediate results in the gym. We have food delivered to us already pre-cut so that we can get a meal cooked 10 minutes faster.  We can even have a book read to us or summarized for us so that we don't have to read them. I think that has lead us to a life where we have very little patience. Maybe it is time we slow down and practice a little patience. 

 Here are four ways to be the patient person you never thought you could be.

1. Make Yourself Wait
The best way to practice patience is to make yourself wait. A study published in Psychological Science shows that waiting for things actually makes us happier in the long run. Start with something small like waiting a few extra minutes to drink that milkshake and then move on to something bigger. You will begin to gain more patience as you practice.

2. Stop Doing Things That Aren't Important
We all have things in our lives that take time away from what is important. One way of removing stress from our lives is to stop doing those things. Take a few minutes and evaluate your week. Look at your schedule from when you wake up to the time you go to sleep. Take out two or three things that you do that aren't important but take time. It's time to learn to say no to things that cause stress and make us impatient.  

3. Be Mindful of the Things Making You Impatient
Most people have several tasks in their head, and they jump from thought to thought without taking the time to finish one task first. We live interrupted lives as we try to multitask and it is frustrating when we feel we aren't making progress. It is better to be mindful of our thoughts and the best way to understand this is to write down what makes you impatient. This will help you slow down and focus on one task at a time and remove those things that stress you out.

4. Relax and Take Deep Breaths
Most of all, just relax and take deep breaths. Taking slow deep breaths can help calm the mind and body. This is the easiest way to help ease any impatient feelings you are experiencing. If breathing doesn't help I find taking a walk to clear your head can be helpful in getting refocused on whats important.  The point is to find some time for you each day to decompress. 

It is time we all slow down and practice a little more patience. We would be less stressed and more mindful of the things that stress us out. If that leads to being happier then isn't it worth trying? 

Source: inc.com

Writer: Rhett Power