Is patience really a virtue?

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I'm not a patient person. I work in a business built on urgency and deadlines. In my personal life, I pretty much operate the same way. For instance, I've gotten better over the years at making small talk, but there are times when I still find it awkward and inefficient. I often find myself wanting people to cut to the chase. Again, that probably has something to do with the newshound in me. Don't bury the lede!

Anyway, the real point here is that I struggle when something doesn't happen as quickly as I'd like. I believe that I can do anything I set my mind to. Really. If I wanted to become a brain surgeon, I think I could learn to do that. If I wanted to fly an airplane, I could learn to do that, too. My belief is based on the fact that I'm a smart person with a brain that operates best on reason and logic. If a skill can be learned, I can learn it ... if I want to.

The problem arises when I don't achieve whatever it was I was trying to do. A recent example involves changing out the fluorescent lightbulbs in my kitchen. This is truly a simple task. Unplug the bad bulbs and plug in the new ones. No reason I couldn't handle that task myself. After multiple tries with the new bulbs without success, I nearly started crying. I tried again a week later. Nothing. A week after that, I tried again. At this point, I didn't have an ounce of patience left. I decided to buy more new bulbs because, clearly, I wasn't doing anything wrong. And I was right. The first set of new bulbs were bad. I put in the second set and the lights came on immediately. Why'd I let my lack of initial success frustrate me so badly?

If I'm honest, I know the answer. It's because I set high expectations for myself (and others). When something doesn't work out the way I wanted it to, I get annoyed. That probably comes from being spoiled as a child. The only good thing is that my expectations for myself are usually higher than those I have for others. But then that usually means I'm just frustrated with myself.

Of course, my weight loss journey fits right into this pattern. I have no patience for plateaus. I know what I need to do to lose the last 30 pounds. Yet I don't do it. It's no one's fault but my own. I could blame my lack of progress on stress, emotions, life, social situations, whatever ... but those would all just be excuses.

All of these thoughts this week have me thinking about patience. What's so good about being patient? For every "good things come to those who wait" idiom, there's a counter argument that says "the early bird gets the worm" or "strike while the iron's hot." What's so bad about knowing what you want and deciding to do whatever it takes to get it?