As the old adage goes, patience is a virtue.
Particularly in today's world of immediate gratification, having the ability to wait for things without getting upset, or to tolerate an unforeseen delay gracefully is an admirable quality.
But is there ever a point where patience prevents progress?
Read on for a motivating except from the Farnam Street Blog, where writer Shane Parrish differentiates between "Active and Passive Patience:"
The least effective form of patience is passive.
A person who is passively patient waits for the universe to give them what they think they deserve. Five years from now, they’ll still be waiting. Passive patience violates Newton’s third law, which states, ‘For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.’
No action. No result.
The world isn’t indebted to you, and no one is destined to come your way, tap your shoulder, and present you with the golden opportunity you’ve been waiting for. It doesn’t work that way.
The most effective form of patience is active patience.
Active patience implies taking significant steps today to set yourself up for future success. It’s about strategically preparing for what lies ahead—saving more than you spend and investing wisely, developing the necessary skills for future job prospects, choosing kindness over cleverness, and so on.
Here is the key lesson: Active patience puts the world on your side. If you go positive and go first, and you do so consistently, the world does a lot of the heavy lifting for you."