How to be more patient: 7 ways to cultivate patience
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, CDCES, MBA
We could all benefit from learning how to be more patient. Try our 10 ways to cultivate patience in your daily life, and get tips on how to cope with impatience.
Patience, it seems, is becoming a bit of a lost art in our fast-paced, instant-gratification world. But learning to be more patient both with yourself and others can help support your mental health, relationships, and overall wellness.
Whether you’re dealing with a challenging co-worker, a family member who knows how to push your buttons, or the annoyance of a long grocery store line, cultivating patience can help you tend to your daily life with more resilience, compassion, and ease.
The benefits of being more patient
Patience is important for maintaining balance in the face of both adversity and day-to-day stress. By increasing your tolerance for life's inconveniences, you can move through the world a bit more peacefully. Here are some other ways practicing patience can make your life better.
Patience boosts self-control and self-compassion
Practicing patience enables us to exercise self-regulation in stressful situations, preventing impulsive reactions and decisions. It also nurtures self-compassion, allowing us to be kinder and more forgiving to ourselves.
Being more patient supports long-term goal achievement
Patience is one of the backbones of achieving long-term goals. It helps us stay committed and focused, ignoring instant gratification and prioritizing more substantial, lasting rewards.
Patience improves physical health
By reducing stress and negative emotions, patience can lower heart rate and decrease the risk of burnout, contributing to overall wellness and a healthier lifestyle.
Patience can enhance problem-solving
Patience allows us to approach problems more thoughtfully and effectively, ensuring we don’t rush to poor solutions out of frustration or impatience.
Patience fosters personal growth
Patience aids in our personal development journey, helping us to become more mindful, gain higher emotional intelligence, and improve self-esteem.
Patience can increase satisfaction and happiness
The more patient we are, the more likely we are to be able to appreciate the present moment, experience joy in daily life, and find satisfaction in our relationships and activities.
Cultivating patience is a stepping stone to a more fulfilling, balanced, and joyful life, enabling us to experience deeper connections, greater resilience, and enhanced wellbeing. Keep these benefits in mind as you start to practice patience each day.
How to be more patient: 10 ways to cultivate patience in your daily life
Being more patient in your daily life involves a conscious effort to manage negative emotions, reframe challenging situations, and maintain a focus on long-term goals and values. Coupled with mindfulness and self-compassion, these strategies can significantly improve your patience levels.
1. Look for small opportunities to practice patience
Patience is a skill, and, like any other skill, it’s developed over time. Start by embracing minor annoyances in your daily life. The next time you’re in that long line or stuck in traffic, use this as an opportunity to practice patience rather than succumbing to frustration.
2. Practice mindfulness
Developing mindfulness naturally strengthens our patience. The practice of mindfulness brings you back to the present moment, reducing stress levels and increasing your ability to cope with challenging situations. So the next time you notice yourself becoming impatient, acknowledge your experience and try to simply observe your emotions without judgment.
💙 Learning to be patient with others starts by being more patient with yourself and your own life. Check out this session on Patience from the Daily Calm.
3. Shift your perspective
Sometimes, changing your perspective can make all the difference. Instead of viewing a situation as a frustrating obstacle, try to see it as a chance to pause, reflect, or even learn something new.
💙 You can also become more patient with your own thoughts when you view them in a healthier way. Try Shift Your Perspective from Daily Jay
4. Accept what’s out of your control
Recognize what you can and cannot change. Accepting what you can’t control can relieve stress and anxiety. Instead, focus on what you can influence and let go of the rest.
💙 Explore the illusion of control with this session from the Daily Calm with Tamara Levitt.
5. Be kind to yourself
Being patient doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a practice — one that requires you to be patient with you, which means cultivating self-compassion. Understand that feeling impatient is a common human experience and doesn’t make you a bad person. Speak to yourself with kindness and avoid self-criticism, which will only make you feel worse.
💙 Learn more about The Strength of Self-Compassion from the Daily Trip. That way the next time you’re experiencing a challenging moment you’ll have the empathy for yourself to get through it.
6. Remember what matters most to you
In moments of impatience, remind yourself of your long-term goals and the values that guide your actions. If what matters most to you is your connections with your loved ones then it will help you to be more patient with them when they do something that frustrates you. Aligning your responses with your deeper intentions fosters patience and reduces hasty reactions.
💙 If you feel impatience growing in the body, try moving through it literally with this session on Impatience from the Daily Move.
7. Develop a meditation practice
Meditation has been shown to have numerous benefits, including improved self-regulation which can be supportive when it comes to cultivating patience. The great news is you don’t need to meditate for long periods of time to see the benefits. Even short daily meditation practices can yield a wealth of huge benefits in the long term. So finding a practice that you enjoy can be a great investment of your time.
💙 If you’re newer to meditation, Jeff Warren can guide you through all the basics via our Mindfulness for Beginners program.
8. Manage stress and anxiety to keep impatience in check
One of the best ways to be a more patient person is to make sure you keep your stress and anxiety in check. The calmer you feel in your own body and mind the easier it is to be patient with others or with frustrating experiences you might have in life.
💙 Managing stress and anxiety might take practice. If you’re looking for tools, check out Overcome Stress & Anxiety with Dr. Julie Smith.
9. Make sure you’re getting enough sleep
It might sound like a simple suggestion, but sleep is so important when it comes to being more patient. Sleep is crucial for good mental health and wellbeing and with that comes the ability to be more patient. It’s no secret that life is simply more difficult when you’re sleep deprived and having a shorter fuse certainly comes with that territory.
💙 If falling asleep is difficult for you, try nestling down with one of our sleep meditations like Unwind into Sleep with Chibs Okereke.
10. Create a go-to calming routine for those impatient moments
When we feel frustrated and worked up, it takes time to return to a state of calm. You can expedite the process, however, by having a calm down plan in place for when times get tough. Develop activities or habits that help you calm down and use them when you start to feel impatient, such as breath work, meditating or writing in a journal. That way the next time you feel pushed around by life, you’ll have a plan for how to reset.
💙 Try adding Breathe into Relaxation with Jay Shetty to your calming routine. It’s a quick and efficient way to use breath work to return you to a calmer state of mind.
How to cope when impatience strikes
No matter how much we cultivate patience in our daily lives, there will inevitably be moments where we get frustrated. That’s where this toolkit comes in. Regularly practicing these tips and inventing some of your own can make a world of difference in helping you stay calm and collected in those trying moments.
Practice deep breathing
When impatience hits, focusing on your breath can help reduce your heart rate and calm your mind. Take a few deep, slow breaths, focusing on the sensation of the air entering and leaving your body, to bring yourself back to the present moment.
💙 If you need help breathing, our Breathe Bubble has your back.
Count to ten
This age-old advice still stands strong. When feeling impatient, slowly count to ten in your head before you react. This simple action can provide that crucial pause, allowing you to respond more thoughtfully.
Walk it off
A classic for a reason. Take a short walk if you can. Movement can help dissipate the tension and stress, and a change of scenery can provide a fresh perspective on the situation. Pair walking with meditation for maximum calming benefits.
💙 Talking a walk when you need to calm down is a great tactic. If you want to increase the mindfulness of your walk check out our Mindful Walking meditation.
Distract yourself
Shifting your focus to something else can prevent your mind from ruminating on the source of your impatience. Read a book, listen to music, or engage in another activity you enjoy.
Use safe-place visualization
Imagine a place or situation where you feel calm, happy, and relaxed. Visualizing positive scenarios can shift your mood and help in reducing impatience.
Calm your mind. Change your life.
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