Patience isn't a #virtue, it's a #necessity.If we can't give time to others, why should they give time to us? #edchat #edu #QuoteADay #Day6
As the father of two young girls (one of them being three), I find that my patience is tested regularly. I pride myself on being a very patient person, but there are times when I wish I had an even deeper reserve. As I have to remind myself regularly, my daughter is not a thirty-four-year-old adult, and things that come easily to me may be beyond challenging to her.
For instance, this morning, our three-year-old (who is also incredibly independent, imagine that) wanted to put her mittens on herself. The first mitten was a breeze, but the dexterity needed for the second one was beyond her. She wouldn't take any assistance, so I forced myself to patiently wait the five minutes while she struggled (only telling her once that we needed to hurry or we would be late for school :) ) until she finally got them on. My stress level was heightened, but this was a necessary accomplishment for her. But, in reality, had I been an even more patient person, I would have seen no rise in my stress level, knowing that the learning she took from the experience was much more important than the five minutest it took to complete the task.
The point is, everyone comes to a decision and/or action with a slightly different (or tremendously different) set of skills, background knowledge, and/or perspective. If we can't give people the time they need to process and act, then we shouldn't be surprised when that same courtesy is denied to us. True reflection and learning require time, and as we all know, time is not a commodity we have a lot of. Yet, if we don't provide people with it, we have to be willing to deal with sub-par results. In life, I don't think that is an outcome anybody would want.
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