Patience and the Healthy Expectation of Future Difficulties

Our patience is strongest when we have a healthy expectation of future difficulties and obstacles in our lives.

Patience often comes with accepting that struggles and hardships are a part of life, and it thereby prepares us to face these struggles and hardships when they actually happen.

I don’t believe we should anticipate that everything is going to go wrong all of the time. Of course, too many negative expectations can become a self-fulfilling belief.

However, I do think we should anticipate that some things are going to go wrong sometimes.

Being optimistic about life is important, but it has to be within reason too – we have to accept the fact that sometimes things won’t work out exactly as we plan, regardless of how positive we are.

That’s what patience is all about.

No matter where you are in life, you’re never going to reach a point where all your problems and troubles magically go away. New obstacles will always present themselves.

Therefore, the best attitude to have isn’t to ignore these future obstacles or try to live a life avoiding them, but to be openly ready to accept them and embrace them (even before they happen).

What’s amazing and powerful is that the more you accept the possibility of future obstacles in your life, the less intense and dramatic they are when they actually happen.

With patience, these negative events don’t surprise you or shock you as much. And this allows you to respond to these events in a more calm, grounded, and understanding way.

Be patient with your life. And be patient with yourself.

Don’t beat yourself up over your mistakes. Don’t give up at the first sight of failure. Instead, have a healthy expectation that you will make mistakes every now and then. And you will fail every now and then.

Why? Because it’s true. There will always be ups and downs – and you have to accept that they are part of the process.

Believe it or not, patience is an important part of healthy self-esteem. Because if you think you have to be perfect to feel good about yourself, then you will never feel good about yourself.

Patience is about setting realistic standards for yourself and your goals. And not drowning in the hopes of achieving the impossible goal of perfectionism.

Ultimately, patience allows you to view your failures, troubles, and shortcomings as a necessary part of life and growth. This way when they happen, you are ready for them.

Here’s a great way to build more patience in yourself.

Cultivating Patience in Your Life

Changing our attitude can take time and effort, but there are tools and exercises we can use to make it easier.

One tool I often recommend is the practice of self-affirmations – statements we say to ourselves that reflect a new thought process that we want to cultivate.

Here are good affirmations for building more patience in your life:

• “Obstacles are a necessary part of growth.”
• “Progress takes time, it won’t happen overnight.”
• “I’m ready to face the obstacle in my future.”
• “I easily flow between the ups and downs in life.”
• “I celebrate the small wins along the way.”
• “I’m optimistic, but practical.”
• “I’m not surprised if life doesn’t always work out way I want”
• “No single moment defines me. I keep the bigger picture in mind.”

Choose 3 of these self-affirmations that you like best.

Now write each one down on an index card and place it around your home where you’ll see it frequently. For example: a mirror, a fridge, or above your bed.

For the next week, every time you see these self-affirmations, try repeating them to yourself 3 times each (either inside your head or out-loud to yourself).

This is just one small step in building more patience.

Overall don’t underestimate the importance of being more patient with yourself and your goals. Things aren’t going to magically change overnight. Things aren’t going to reach a point where you never experience obstacles and problems ever again.

Accepting this reality is ultimately going to make you better off in the end than ignoring it.

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