Dr. Sarah Schnitker

It means you might just throw your hands up, give up, or you might recklessly push.

Maybe you would say, no, I deserve this race now.

That's not going to win you a raise.

And so you need this back and forth between patience and courage.

And pushing forward is important, but also recognizing it's going to take time and it's going to involve waiting is just as important.

And sometimes we're afraid to wait.

We're afraid that what we hope for won't come.

And so we might just say, forget it.

I'm not going to try for a raise.

This is too hard for me.

Instead of just waiting it out and doing the small daily things together.

It's really important.

And I think, you know, we might think of instances like flying off the handle when you're stuck in traffic or in a line at the DMV.

But I think when it's most important is maybe in your close relationships, right?

How about when your spouse or partner does something that makes you impatient?

Are you able to pause and communicate with them in a manner that's constructive?

Or do you fly off the handle at them and do some lasting damage that you might have to pay for decades later?

So I think it really matters, and especially in our interpersonal relationships where we can really hurt others with our impatience.

Well, I always like to say you need a how and a why.

So you need, first of all, with that why, why do I care about this?