30-Day Abundance Mindset Challenge
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Day 18 – Three Short, Short ,Stories on Impatience
WATCH YOUR STEP!
While I knew that I wanted to write about patience today, I didn’t know that my patience would literally be put to the test before I began my blog post. As I was packing up books, papers, supplies for our new office in Pittsboro, the kittens were totally underfoot. Every step I took, I was stepping on toys, little paws, tails, food dish (which is a puzzle feeder with sharp grooves and edges.)
Ouch! I began shoo-ing the kitties away with a little frustration in my voice. The more impatient I became – the more anxious and underfoot they were. Sometimes I lack patience, and then I feel like a terrible cat guardian.
SLOW DOWN!
Several weeks ago, early in the morning, before sunrise I was driving to the swimming pool. I hate driving in the dark to begin with, but someone got behind me and started tailgating at 5:30 am. When I slowed down to turn into the Sportsplex Driveway, the person was driving too fast, almost rear ending me and also began aggressively honking at me. Flustered, I almost ran off the road as I was turning into the driveway.
It was 5:30 in the morning! I was shaking and I said some choice words as the person drove by.
COME TO BLOWS?
In the early days of the pandemic, I arrived at the local Walmart early in the morning. They had special hours for senior citizens and asked those of us who wanted to get in to wait outside until it was time for the rest of us to go in. A man arrived. Impatient, he began to yell at the Walmart employee and for a brief moment, I thought this angry man was going to hit the employee.
Yikes! It was a scary situation.
Day 19 – Slowing Down – 3% More Patience
By the end of the day yesterday, I was feeling bad that I hadn’t had time to finish the blog piece yesterday. I had set out to reflect for 30 Days on Abundance Mindset, and hoped to post daily. I was able to write out my stories yesterday, but lacked the time to finish my reflection on patience.
A couple days ago, I wrote about “being excellent” vs “being perfect.” As I was fretting last night about letting myself down and not getting around to finishing the blog, I realized that I was engaging “perfectionist” thinking to my Abundance Mindset “blogging” challenge.
And, not only that, I was experiencing “impatience” with myself – experiencing in real time the very topic I wanted to explore and share wisdom on.
A few deep breaths and letting go of the need to finish my blog post, I decided to break up the post and publish Day 18 and Day 19 together. By slowing down, my creativity kicked in – and the problem was solved.
I have three cats – and when I got the kittens last fall – I realized that whereas I couldn’t really control their behavior, I could control the environment. Instead of being frustrated by the destruction of my beloved plants, I simply gave the plants away and purchased more toys for the cats to play with.
Likewise, by cultivating an Abundance Mindset, we are able to slow down, take deep breaths, and have greater control of our environment and our creativity.
Why are we in such a hurry anyway? Why do we drive so fast? Or get cranky when told to wait in a line? We are told through mainstream media everyday how divided we are. If that’s the case, then perhaps the solution begins with ALL of us simply slowing down and cultivating patience with one another. Begin talking again – without judgment – about who we are as humans.
Mindset shifts take time and conscious commitment to change habitual thinking patterns in 1 degree increments at a time. Today, I’m challenging myself to have 3% more patience than I did yesterday.
Thanks for reading…and for a moment of fun…check out my instagram video of Jupiter.
~xoxox