Maybe it’s just because I’ve been so immersed in the virtual world lately that it seems like the pressure has increased to be incredibly witty, insightful, and on topic at the drop of a hat. ‘If you’re not twittering, you’re not succeedding’ seems to be a popular mantra. I’m not wired that way  – if I read something thought provoking I like to mull it over for a day or two before making a comment about it. When I get a Facebook invite from someone I don’t recognize I pull out my high-school yearbook to see if that rings any bells before I accept it (it’s amazing what 20+ years changes or doesn’t change!)  But maybe it’s not so necessary to be the first voice or the loudest voice, even on the Internet. It just seems that way.

I’ve noticed that some of the bigger blogs, like zenhabits have removed the comment feature lately and I came across an article about a top gadget reviewer, David Pogue’s secret weapon, that attributes a large portion of his popularity to the fact that he never rushes in at the first opportunity, but actually waits quite a while before reviewing gadgets and technology – long past the point when geeks consider it new.

Most of the people out there that are giving advice on how not to miss out on the party (or the millions) are most likely a bit worried that they’ve missed out themselves.  Maybe the party is actually behind them and if they just turned around and headed in a different direction things would be different.  That doesn’t mean you get to use it as an excuse not to take action but absolutely do give yourself permission to go at your pace and not the Internet’s.

Technorati Tags: dealing with impatience, peer pressure

How many times have you told yourself  or been told ‘Be Patient!’?

Patience is often described as a lack of action; ‘buy those shoes now or be patient and wait for them to go on sale.’  More times than not though, when people are struggling with patience and wishing for more of it (right now!) it has to do with too much activity, not too little – ‘why won’t this work? I’ve been struggling with it for hours!’  ‘I’m ready to strangle David, he’s been whining nonstop’, ‘Why isn’t this traffic moving, I’m already late!’ etc. and so on.  Not all activity is physical, sometimes it’s passive like listening or worrying in the earlier examples.

So what’s the secret to getting back in the groove of patience?  Simply stopping.  Stop what you’re doing and switch to something else.  Getting frustrated because the computer keeps crashing and you can’t get that report done? Stop working on it,  do another task and come back to this one later.  Even if that report was due yesterday – frustration never creates much value anyway.  Caught in traffic? Stop worrying and start thinking about what you want for Christmas so you can get your list out to friends and family early – worrying does not make lights turn green or cars move (really, it doesn’t.)

Technorati Tags: dealing with impatience, patience, reducing stress

It’s funny how when things start happening you just want even more to happen.  That’s where I am this week; trying to reign myself in. At the last minute I found out about the chance to submit artwork for the giant hospital expansion nearby – since I can hear them pounding and shouting all day, it seems like having it include my work would only be fair.  I’m hoping that it was synchronicity that made me look at that website on that day as it was highly ironic that I had to send everything off to Texas for inclusion in a building I can see from home.  And now that my jewelry is in the gallery I’m seeing new cracks in the business side of things and wondering if this will be a short-lived experience.  It’s hard to sell anything if you aren’t open for business.  But… some patience is required; not everyone likes to run with scissors which I constantly have to remind myself!

I have plenty to keep me busy – I will be doing my first craft show at the end of November and currently have nothing ready to sell which will need to be rectified quickly.  I also have my new volunteer case which was enough to give me some nightmares after I read the file but impatient (again) to keep going which I can’t do until the judge signs the official paperwork.

It’s now been just about a year since I returned from my solo road trip – in some ways it feels like yesterday and in others like it’s time to do something similar again.  Instead I’m going to try to create a book from it so that’s also high on the agenda.  And although I don’t want to, it’s getting to the time where I need to go find a part-time job while my other enterprises incubate.  Things always seem to move like a roller coaster!

Technorati Tags: dealing with impatience, Personal Growth, solopreneur, synchronicity, the way to happiness