When a farmer goes to his farm and plants some seeds, he will not expect the seeds to germinate and grow in the same day, he will have to leave the seeds to go through the process of time - simply put, he will need to exercise some patience. If he goes to the farm everyday to touch the seeds or uproot the seedlings to see if they are growing well, he may end up killing the seedlings. In the same way, in life, there are processes and methods that should be observed for one to achieve success and these will require patience.
Image from Pixabay
It is worthy to note that patience does not mean wasting of time, rather it shows that you have understood the times and season to the point that you can use them in your favour. There is a reason why when a women conceives, she will wait until the due time (which is typically 9 months of gestation) before the baby is brought forth. If the woman decides to have the baby at a time earlier than the due time, the baby may be premature and the life of both the baby and the mother may be at risk. Why some people's successes are truncated is because of lack of patience.
In this era, a lot of people have grown impatient so much that all they think about is "shortcut". Well, this is to remind you that shortcuts have their own consequences because everything that is not done through the due process attracts consequences. Many people have also fallen victims of bad actors because of lack of patience. In the area of investment for example, how will you explain why someone will invest in a business and expect to receive an incredibly outrageous ROI in an unbelievably short time? This is the reason why investment scams get to people because of the "get rich quick" mentality. This reminds me of this popularly used phrase:
If you want to stay up, then grow up.
The above quote is not referring to physical jumping. It only means that the success that will last has to built over time and this must be done with patience. The time between when you plant and when you reap, or when you invest and when you gain is called "patience." Patience, in its simplest term, is the ability of someone to wait for his success to mature. You will agree with me that the time a rat uses for gestation is much shorter that the time an elephant uses. However, when an elephant delivers, it will be massive. In the same way, when your successes take time, it does not invalidate the success but it means it will be big.
If someone starts a roadside hawking business, the person may starts drawing profits from the next day or even the same day. But if someone else starts a cement manufacturing company, for years, he may not see an immediate return. However, when the returns start to roll in, it will be far greater that what the roadside hawker had made and is making. If the person that invests in cement company grows impatient because he sees that the roadside hawker has started making profit, he will miss out of his own.
Image from Pixabay
Do not allow someone else's success to distract you from your own. What is a destination for them might just be a starting point for you. More so, both of you are not enroute in the same life's journey and do not have the same destination, so mind your own journey so that you will not be distracted. If you are travelling for example and you follow someone to drop at their destination, you will be stranded on the way. Similarly, in life, if you allow someone's success to make you to develop impatience, you may lose your own success.
One thing to know is that patience is not gifted, neither is it inherited, rather it is a choice that someone makes consciously. If you observe farmers during the planting season and the harvest season, you will understand that patience is a choice. In conclusion, success that will last will require time to be built, so learn to have patience in handy because you will need it in your journey of life.
Thanks for reading
