“Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience.”
-Franz Kafka
“Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow — that is patience.”
-Unknown source
Remind yourself of these proverbs every day when practicing. We all have to work to remember to be patient with ourselves. Being patience is not a skill that needs to be developed; it is simply a decision that you make. Instead of getting upset when you have a problem with a passage, decide to take a few deep breathes and look at the problem objectively.
Ask yourself:
- Can I do this right now? If the answer is yes- just do it!
- Can I learn this right now? If the answer is yes- ask how many steps will it take for me to learn it?
- If the answer is no- ask how much time do I need to develop this skill?
Sometimes problems can be conquered in one moment and sometimes it is necessary to develop a skill over a few days. Once you have decided on the right strategy it becomes much easier to be patient.
Wonderful quotes! I especially like #2, about asking yourself what are the steps necessary to learn something new. It brings us to not only acknowledge something as an obstacle we can overcome, but encourages us to draw out a course to get there as well.