Impatience: Why am I so impatient?
Why do people get impatient?
Impatience is often the result of wanting something to happen immediately or more quickly than it actually does. This feeling can be caused by a number of factors, such as personal expectations, stress or the fact that people are used to getting things done quickly.
Sometimes impatience arises when people feel their time is being wasted or when they find themselves in situations they cannot control. Personality also plays a role: some people are naturally more patient, while others become impatient more quickly.
Many scientists have studied the causes of impatience and it is generally believed that the following factors can trigger impatience:
- Waiting time: If time slows down while you are waiting for something and the waiting time gets longer, this can increase feelings of impatience.
- Uncertainty: Uncertainty about when something will happen or how it will turn out can also increase impatience.
- Emotional state: In particular, emotional states such as stress, anxiety and worry can trigger feelings of impatience.Personality traits: Some people are naturally impatient. These people often feel the need to act faster and see results sooner.
- Environmental factors: Environmental factors, such as waiting in heavy traffic or at a crowded event, can also increase impatience.
The signs of impatient people are usually obvious and can be spotted by observing or carefully studying their behaviour. Here are some of the signs:
- Constant movement: Impatient people often can’t sit still and always want to do something. They may tap their feet, walk on tiptoe or wave their hands around.
- Showing : people may show their impatience by making a facial expression. For example, they may frown, press their lips together or blink their eyes frequently.
- Inner restlessness: people often feel restless inside and use various methods to express this restlessness. For example, they may become angry or irritable or show other emotional reactions.
- Rushed behaviour: people often behave hurriedly in order to get things done quickly and see results sooner. For example, they may speak more quickly, interrupt their work and move on to another task, or urge others to act quickly.
- Distractibility: people are often easily distracted. For example, they may switch from one task to another or check their mobile phone frequently.
- Signs of impatience: people often show signs of impatience when they have to wait. For example, they often look at their watch, start asking questions all the time, or give up when they don’t get results on a particular issue.
The above symptoms are common characteristics of impatient behaviour. However, these symptoms alone do not guarantee that a person is impatient. This can vary from person to person and is not always obvious.
How to overcome impatience. Tips for managing impatience
Fortunately, there are some ways to manage feelings of impatience. Here are some tips to help you:
- Practice mindfulness: mindfulness is a meditation technique where you focus your mind on the present moment rather than living in the past. This can help reduce feelings of impatience. You can practise mindfulness by doing breathing exercises, focusing on your body, or focusing on immediate experiences.
- Meditate: Meditation is an excellent way to calm your mind and reduce feelings of lack of patience. By meditating for 10 to 15 minutes a day, you can calm your mind and reduce lack of patience.
- Plan your waiting time: Planning your waiting time can reduce feelings of lack of patience. Think about what else you can do while you wait and make a plan. For example, you could read a book, text a friend or play a game on your mobile phone.
- Motivate yourself with positive thoughts: Positive thoughts can help reduce feelings of lack of patience. To give yourself a positive outlook, set achievable goals and reward yourself when you reach them. At the same time, don’t criticise yourself, but treat yourself with kindness and understanding.
- Do breathing exercises: Breathing slowly and deeply can help calm your mind. Take a deep breath, hold it for 5 seconds at a time and then release it slowly. Repeat this a few times.
- Dealing with patient people: When you deal with patient people, you can learn to be patient from them. If you feel lack of patience, you can calm yourself by remembering the behaviour of patient people.
- Communicate openly: When it comes to waiting times or other situations that cause lack of patience, communicate openly. For example, if your appointment or order is delayed, try to show understanding by speaking openly and sympathetically to the staff.
- Take your time: lack of patiencearises when we want to see results immediately. In some cases, however, it takes time to get results. Take your time and be patient.
- Avoid distracting activities: Distract yourself from things that make you feel lack of patience. For example, avoid distracting activities such as social media or watching TV. Instead, spend your time doing calming activities such as reading a book, going for a walk or doing yoga.
- Consider the possible consequences: lack of patienceoften arises when we want to see results immediately. However, the outcome of an action cannot be predicted in advance. Thinking about the possible outcomes can help you make the waiting time more productive and reduce the feeling of lack of patience.
- Use stress management techniques: Impatience can be a result of stress. Stress management techniques can help reduce feelings of impatience. For example, activities such as yoga, meditation and exercise can help reduce stress and calm you down.
- Learn to be patient: Patience is a skill that can be developed over time. If you’re feeling impatient, remind yourself and try different methods to learn to be patient.
These tips can help to reduce the feeling of impatience and calm you down. However, sometimes impatience can be a symptom of a more serious problem. In this case, it’s best to talk to a psychologist or therapist to develop a more personalised plan. Time for impatience!
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References:
- Gilbert, D. (2023). Impatient: We can feel like imposters. Health Service Journal. Sabırsızlık zamanı
- Impatient and risk-tolerant people more often become criminals, study finds. (2022, February 22). ScienceDaily. Sabırsızlık zamanı
- Neuroscience News. (2020). Humans Are Impatient, Even Down to Seconds. Neuroscience News. Sabırsızlık zamanı