I hate waiting. I really hate waiting. Whether it’s Walgreens, a fast food drive thru or at the bank (like the photo shows), I hate waiting. I lack patience. It feels like someone is always in my way. But in my hindsight, I realize that I stand in my own path and forward progression.
Delayed gratification is a necessary component of long-term success. LeBron James played 8 to 9 years of professional basketball before he was able to win a championship. 50 Cent , Eminem, and Jay-Z all individually didn’t get their first album release until they were almost 30. Steve Harvey is noted as saying that he didn’t get real money until he was 35 years of age. Thus, it’s easy to see that delayed gratification leads to success or it could be subtle success depending on what you put into it. Are you going back to school? What about graduate school? Do you have basic skills you need to work on before you can gain advanced knowledge? Whatever you want your life to become, you have you to be patient.
My own flight with patience are well documented. I discuss my career troubles in My Flexibility Manifesto. One of the main causes of my career dissatisfaction is my lack of patience. I didn’t want to wait for success. I breezed through my master’s degree. Before I attended the University of Memphis, I attended Middle Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University simultaneously. I was enrolled in two different educational majors; the former emphasized administration. Obviously I didn’t want to delay my potential success. As rewarding as it is to be busy and always on the go, pursuing multiple things at once can be detrimental.
Perhaps if I had solely focused on my banking career I would have had long-term success. The same can be said for my customer service years and teaching career. As I continue to learn more about myself and God’s purpose for my life, I am comfortable delaying gratification. I need time to hone my skills and increase my competency in a single field. Amen to that.
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