I have had the opportunity lately to grow my patience. Through two means: training a puppy and learning how to golf. These have tested me to the core and I have learned so much.

First off my puppy experience: I did tons of research online for techniques to train dogs. I learned the most when it came time to actually use the techniques with my puppy (his name is Monies). i learned that it isn’t good to react to puppies if they make a mistake. I really learned this when I got frustrated with my dog when he ‘mistaked’ in my house. He took my violent reaction as excitement and was proud the next time he ‘mistaked’, like he left me a present! I had to laugh, and I had to clean. Lesson 1: Patient people don’t react.

Second off golf: I tried so hard to learn golf. I moved around all over, I tried to swing lower, faster, harder, use my hips more, use my arms less, try Tate’s clubs, try Coby’s clubs, try Nike balls, try try try until I decided I couldn’t guess how to golf anymore. So I hired a coach. He knew the principles to golf. He knew exactly what I was doing wrong and how to help me. One specific thing that he taught me was: The game of golf is 90% setup. Before his coaching I was 100% guessing! You must know the setup to do the setup. This coach told me that he saw Vijay Singh take 5 hours to hit a bucket of balls. My game has dramatically improved since learning the principles of a good swing. Lesson 2: Patient people take the time to setup. Setup is 90% of everything. 

I love this quote by Bryan Adams: “Learn the art of patience. Apply discipline to your thoughts when they become anxious over the outcome of a goal. Impatience breeds anxiety, fear, discouragement and failure. Patience creates confidence, decisiveness, and a rational outlook, which eventually leads to success.”