Patience is an art – and the key to success

THIS ICE cool man knows that everything will pass. He can deal with loss, overcome disappointment, even withstand torture, because he knows that this too shall pass. The secret is to not spend energy on wanting it to complete this session, but to simply know that it will. Too much wanting the future to come sooner – to arrive now! – causes us distress, causes us to lose the balance of our minds, causes us to lose patience, and to give up.

The wise man knows how to wait, to observe the situation as it is, without judgement, without wishing it would pass, without wishing it was something other than it is. This is possible, and not easy. It means holding your mind steady in the present, not letting it perform like a spoilt child, either liking or disliking everything it sees, always wanting something or wishing something away.

Persistence is the child of patience;
success, the inevitable result of persistence.

In this state of mind, a batsman can stay at the crease for more than a day while his team is losing, a prisoner can endure torture, you can stay fixed on your goal no matter what obstacles are in your path. Persistence is the child of patience; success, the inevitable result of persistence. Make your success inevitable by trusting that your current struggles, too, shall pass.