Posts Tagged ‘patience’

As my friends know well, I’m a passionate person. Fortunately, though, I have a wide practical streak that helps me hold my passions in check and keeps me from cutting off my nose to spite my face. That practicality is a gift from both parents, but it usually speaks to me in the voice of Star Trek’s Mr. Spock, quoting a favorite line from the film The Wrath of Khan: “You must learn to govern your passions; they will be your undoing.“

As a reporter for the Washington Post, Carl Bernstein occasionally let passion get the best of him, too. According to author Stephen Bates in his book If No News, Send Rumors, Bernstein dreamed of being the paper’s full-time rock critic. And executive editor Ben Bradlee promised him the job … before giving it to someone else.

Furious, Bernstein decided to quit the job he’d held since 1966. But his inner Spock must have had a word because he didn’t just storm out the door. Instead he quietly applied for Hunter S. Thompson’s recently vacated postion as political writer for Rolling Stone.

Read the rest of this entry »

Poor Virgil was a sweet young man saddled with total ineptitude. Whatever he touched, he broke. No matter how simple the job, he botched it. Finally, given the easy task of polishing a set of keys, he managed to wear away the grooves, rendering the keys useless and sealing the door they were supposed to unlock.

Faced with this latest example of his incompetence, his cousin Barney berated his stupidity, leaving Virgil hanging his head in shame and defeat.

Fans of The Andy Griffith Show recognize the plot from the episode “Cousin Virgil.” But most of us have witnessed similar interactions between managers and employees—or worse, between parents and children. People screw up and other people berate them. We may have been on the giving or receiving ends of similar experiences.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s said that every journey begins with a single step. My problem is that once I take those monumental first steps, I expect to see some immediate results. Patience is not my virtue. If I’ve finally screwed up my courage to charge at that mountain, I expect that thing to move at least a couple of feet. NOW!

But it doesn’t quite work that way. Despite what some positivity gurus tell you about how you can think good thoughts and good things will come quickly, it’s not quite as easy as rubbing the lamp, making three wishes, and getting immediate results. Some work is involved … and some waiting, too. And as Tom Petty once sang, “the waiting is the hardest part.” The best way to handle it: by moving on to the next task.

Read the rest of this entry »

Be patient.

Read the rest of this entry »