Remember patience

  • Published
  • By Chief Master Sgt. Brian Bischoff
  • 960th Cyberspace Wing

I hope you are having a good Air Force day. If not; patience grasshopper.

For those who know me, I often come across as an impatient person. I like to think of myself as highly focused with a sense of urgency, but… sometimes not. 

Patience is a constant challenge I continue to battle and try to put into perspective. I sometimes have to remind myself not everyone sees things as I do. I use the following story to remember that.

An old man went to see his doctor for a checkup. When he was done the doctor asked if there was anything else wrong. The old man said he was concerned about his wife and that her hearing seemed to be going.

The doctor asked how bad it was and the old man said he wasn’t sure. The doctor said to ask her something and keep getting closer until she responds, and then they would know. “Excellent,” the old man thought.

When he arrived home he saw his lovely wife cooking the in the kitchen (she was an awesome cook). He asked, “Hey, honey, what’s for dinner?”

No response. 

He moved closer and asked again, “Hey, honey, what’s for dinner?”

Still no response. 

He moved up right behind her and asked once more, “Hey, honey, what’s for dinner?” 

His wife replied, “For the third time, it’s meatloaf!”

The point is, sometimes it’s not them, it’s you. 

I try to remember that and do a gut check when I am feeling stressed and impatient. I ask myself a few things: One, is this an actual emergency, or just my emergency? Two, is the timeline realistic? Three, are things progressing or stopped? 

These questions normally tell me if I need to step in and help push things along, or just relax a bit and let the process work like it was designed to.

So the question is, are you highly focused with a sense of urgency? Or just impatient? It’s something to think about.

“Patience is not passive, on the contrary, it is concentrated strength”- Bruce Lee