Things don’t always go according to plan. Sometimes what we want gets delayed, and we get frustrated, wondering why it takes so long. Here’s how people can be more patient.

Maybe you’re reading the Collection of Short Stories on The Hands of God Book, wondering when God will start working His miracles on you. They often say that God will still give it to you when you ask for something at the perfect time. Sometimes, we must wait longer than others. Maybe it’s because we do not know much yet, or maybe we need to learn the value of patience.

When discussing patience, we always think of the saying, “Patience is a virtue.” We always strive for patience, but it may be difficult for most of us to achieve. Patience is needed at different times, not only for small activities like waiting in line but also for career and other aspects of life when you are waiting for something to happen to you.

Contrary to common belief, impatience is not the antonym of patience. Virtues are similar to a spectrum. It doesn’t mean you ultimately do not have it or ultimately have it. It is more like a range ranging from “high” patience to “low” patience. To achieve more patience, here are some ways for you to develop patience:

Practice waiting to be more patient

Have you ever heard the phrase, “Practice makes perfect?” That situation can be applied here. The more you can practice holding your temper and irritability, the more likely you will develop it.

Remember that when doing this, you have to start small. You cannot develop patience in waiting for the “perfect someone” to appear in your life if you do not even have the patience to stand in line for your lunch.

Allowing yourself to pick the longer line when you have the time or visiting stores to order food instead of asking someone else to do it for you are ways to develop patience. Remember that you don’t always succeed on your first try, but knowing what went wrong and how to address it next time will help you improve your patience next time.

Reframe and think of others

Reframing is like repositioning your point of view into that of another person. Thinking of others’ situations and what you could or would do in them would help you be more patient since you understand what the person is going through.

Suppose you are waiting in line for coffee, which is taking too long. Think of what the girl behind the counter is feeling. If you realize that she must be very stressed with the complicated orders of the customers, or that you consider that she has been working the same shift for almost 5 hours already, you will realize that she is trying her best. Realizing what is best or convenient for others will help you be more patient and understand their situation.

Stop unimportant tasks

To put this concept simply, remove menial tasks that make you less patient and irritable. Things that are of no use – to annoy you. For example, if your co-worker asks you to make his coffee, and you know it is not your job, don’t do it. You may benefit from that co-worker since you would stop hating him when you pass him his coffee.

Pay attention to what makes you less patient

Knowing what makes you less patient will help you identify what needs to be addressed and what cannot. With the multitude of things we need to do, it is normal for most of us to jump from one task to another in our heads. Because of that, we cannot finish one task first, making us less patient with ourselves since we cannot complete anything. Because of that, we should write down all our tasks to identify, making us less patient.

Know why

Knowing why you are less patient with something will often help address your irritability or stress. For example, if you are irritable with your children who take so long to get out of the house because you don’t want them to be late for school, then maybe you can try waking them up earlier. In this way, you recognize what makes you stressed and less patient and address it so that it does not become a reason for irritability.

For things you cannot control, try to remember as much as possible why you’re putting up with it or why you need to do it. For example, if you become less patient with your child, who keeps crying when you feed her vegetables, then reminding yourself that you do this to make her healthy and fit or you are doing it for her well-being will help you become more patient with her.