Hi. My name is Ari, and I have no patience (Hi Ari). Seriously, I never had any patience. My Mama said that as a child, I always wanted to rush things along to check it off to say that I did it. So now, as a 34-year-old woman trying to unlearn this horrible habit is exhausting. What my Mama was not aware of in the ’90s, but is putting it together now, I am an anxious person. Waiting puts me in a state of worry and panic because I cannot see the finish line. As I am writing this, I can see my therapist, my therapist looking at me with her big smile, saying, “Ari, you cannot control everything all the time,” “Somethings are out of our control.” I am trying not to roll my eyes. But I cannot find the art of patience.
Since I have been searching for a new job, I began to see how by slowing down and taking my hands off things that I am not in control of, I was able to see positive feedback and a new way of seeing waiting. I realize waiting gives you a chance to do something you have been putting off (like me reading more books because my mind is not on an offer letter). Now do not get me wrong; I still try to sneak and see if things are cooking. But like my grandma Daisy (rest peacefully) would say, “The more you keep looking in the pot, the more time it will take to boil.” She has never fib to me. EVER. So I am taking my angel’s advice and keeping myself away from the pot (within reason, okay y’all) until it is time for it to boil.
I want to end this story with this powerful quote from Saint Francis De Sales that beautifully said, “Have patience with all things, but first of all with yourself.”