This post was originally published in 2014 · Jacob M Hansen

“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Just as there are times to move, there are also times to be still.  When faced with a decision, sometimes the best course of action is to simply wait until the situation–or yourself–matures, giving you better opportunities or clarity of thought.  Often times, this requires patience. 

Patience is waiting in the midst of pressure.  It is not the casual passing of time, springing from laziness or apathy, and neither is it the lack of action which comes from indecision or confusion.  It is rather deliberate inaction while under pressure to act in a certain way.  

This pressure can triggered from a real world circumstance, such as a business deal that must be quickly seized.  It could also be triggered by other people’s expectations, when we feel obligated to fill those expectations. But it originates in our own emotions: when we feel emotions such as fear, anger, distress, ecstatic joy, or desire, we are strongly motivated to do something. 

Whether we are motivated to react harshly to a family member, dash into a store to buy something we think we can’t live without, or thoughtlessly commit to a “limited time opportunity”, we are driven by our own self-imposed pressure to take a specific action.  This pressure makes exercising patience both possible and needed.

A person exercising patience is like a plant growing on the edge of a fast flowing river.  While constantly under the water’s never-ending pull, the plant remains firmly rooted to the bank.  It does so because it knows that it is better to remain still, then to go with the current.

In order to develop the courage and self discipline that patience requires, we must be likewise rooted in a broad perspective of life, and understanding that waiting, in a particular situation, is the best thing to do.  

In life we should be careful to not abuse patience, as too much inaction makes us useless, and could even kill us.  But nevertheless, there are times when it is better to be still then to move. So when inaction is required amidst pressure to act, be patient—it’s a virtue.