Hey Reader,

How do you know when to act, versus when to be patient and wait for results?

We've all heard the saying that "patience is a virtue".

And I also think it's true that we're living in a world where we are used to our desires being fulfilled instantly.

We order something and it comes the next day. We want to talk to someone and we can call them immediately.

Many of us probably need to practice more patience and delayed gratification.

However...

Are there times when patience isn't a virtue?

When you're just letting time pass, achieving nothing...

When it's not actually patience, but instead is just passiveness...

👀

Because we all also know what it's like to wait around for something or someone that we have no control over.

And we've all experienced forgetting about something that we think isn't in our control, so we just let it be, even if we want a result from it.

The difference between that and actually being patient is in your level of awareness and proactive choice.

Let me explain.

Google tells us that patience is:

Let's break that down:

• Staying calm without becoming angry or upset = Having the emotional fitness to check your feelings, choose them, and let go of the unhelpful emotions that arise which interrupt your calm and peace.
• Waiting / enduring tough times = Choosing your response, which in this case, is one where you observe what is going on and waiting for specific events to play out.

There may or may not be an expected result, but there is always a process of some kind that one would be proactively choosing to wait for, to see how it plays out.

They key word is choosing. Conscious choice is what makes all the difference.

To illustrate what I mean, let's take a scenario where you don't know what you're waiting for. What happens when there is no conscious choice?

I've seen this most commonly in small businesses. When I'm conducting hypnotherapy sessions (especially for entrepreneurs), I notice the difference between when they feel most empowered versus when they feel powerless.

When something in the business "isn't working" and they think the reason is "out there" - people won't buy the product, the co-founder isn't pulling their weight, the market conditions are challenging - that is super disempowering and uninspiring.

So what happens? Many of them wait. They "have patience" and "trust the process" while the business hemorrhages money.

But actually, it's their responsibility (because they are the leader of the business) to choose NOT to be patient, and instead to consciously analyze the data, so they can pivot.

Making a change quickly, instead of being patient, is often the best course of action in times like that.

But indecision, disempowerment, or simply not knowing any better, can lead to passivity and reactivity, instead of proactive conscious choice.

I think this is when patience ceases to be a virtue.

Because instead, at that point, it's just a justification for passivity.

To be honest though, I don't even think most of us think about it deeply enough to use it as an excuse.

Passivity, or omission, simply happens in the background. It just happens automatically when, instead of choosing to stay calm and analyze, we just get on with other things and forget about the problem, hoping unconsciously that it will go away or change.

I wrote about analyzing that data so you can make a change, if you need to, in my last articles.​

Anyway... Here's the crux of the discussion today Reader,

Patience is a great skill to have. It's a very emotionally-fit state that will serve you in your personal and your working life. And it is a skill.

AND, a lesser-known part of that skill, is the ability to choose when NOT to have it.

When should you say no?

When should you set a tighter timeline?

When should you pivot something that isn't working, or even choose to leave behind ("quit") something that simply no longer serves?

It's tough. It requires discernment.

But getting it right will help you make the most impactful decisions of your life.

Here's to your success, Reader,

- Seven

PS I have a networking event coming up next week (in 5 days!). Check it out on LinkedIn for more info and book a ticket here.