Patience is a Discipline

Lou Judd
SportsLeader
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In a recent SportsLeader email, Lou writes: "I'm currently reading a book titled The Noticer Returns by Andy Andrews. There was a paragraph that really grabbed me.

‘Despite the ebb and flow of our feelings, we can control the way we act. Patience is not a feeling. Patience is the description of a behavior. One can choose to act patiently even while the feeling of frustration tempts him to choose inappropriate behavior. It is impossible to feel frustrated and feel patient at the same time, but one can be inundated with feelings of frustration and still display patience. Patience is a discipline. It's an action. Patience is a chosen response.'

"So because we don't feel patient, we can easily think that we are not patient. The dangerous part of that thinking is equating feelings with virtues. They are not the same.

"In our increasingly immediate gratification driven society, feelings are behind the wheel. This is what formation and training are all about; learning to conscientiously move our feelings to the back seat and have our willpower and intellect in the driver's seat.

"We can use our will to control ourselves and exercise virtue."

 

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