Patience and Boldness

Leap + Steady-As-You-Go

In the last issue, I introduced the parallel tracks of LEAP + STEADY-AS-YOU-GO as a useful strategy for approaching your goals.  There are two seemingly contradictory qualities which go hand in hand with this strategy: PATIENCE and BOLDNESS.  Maybe you’re thinking, “Well, I’ve never been very patient,” or “Uh-oh.  Boldness isn’t exactly my thing.”  Don’t worry.  These traits can be grown.

“Patience is a virtue.”

My high school teacher often stated this refrain and my response was usually to roll my eyes.  What I’ve since learned, however, is that patience may sound passive but it’s really not.  Very often, what’s required right on the verge of a breakthrough is a dose of patience.  It can mean the difference between staying in the game long enough to win vs. giving up and missing out.  As a professional coach, I have seen people choose both options.  Take the example of changing careers.  One person gives up mid-course because the timing isn’t what he imagined.  Another keeps moving ahead and an ultimate solution unfolds that is even better than anticipated.

Patience tests your commitment level and it challenges your creativity, your faith, and your willingness.  Patience, then, is a secret weapon and a matter of will.

“Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid.”

Basil King’s invitation from two centuries ago still beckons us today.  The invitation to be bold grants us permission to go for it, make a difference, make mistakes, and to be effective without being perfect.  Boldness embraces the power of now and demands that we identify our imperatives.

Patience + Boldness: Grow Yours

We are all impatient and patient, timid and bold.  The great thing about character is that you get to grow it.  How?  By becoming aware of your choice to do so.  Begin by simply making the intention.  Say to yourself: I am learning to be patient.  That was very bold of me.  Then, back it up with action that shows you mean business.