“Life is lived as an anticipated memory because all we have is the anticipated memory. The present is gone way to fast…… its rich…. but its fast” – Jason Silva

“I want a fruit snack and I want it now!!!”, the words of my 4 year old son demanding a sugary bedtime snack as I try frivolously to put him to bed. Patience, my kids don’t have it. They want it all NOW!!! or, a minute ago. This isn’t a new discovery, I am not treading on controversial waters here. Kids have been the epicenter of impatience since cavemen darted out of caves to track down almonds in the wilderness as young cave kids whined relentlessly for a treat. So, the question is, how do we teach our kids patience? Its important to be patient, not just for us but for them. The “I want it now” mentality goes beyond your child’s youth. Yes, even adults show signs of impatience, stemming from a different perspective on getting things “NOW”.

The Impatient Child

Why are kids impatient? Well, to a child the future seems far away. The second it takes you to get their orange juice feels like an hour. They cannot imagine being an adult, heck they can’t even think as far as the weekend. In your child’s world, time is an eternity. Now, it goes into some other stuff to, mainly their desire to have control over you. But, their concept of time demands that things be done a minute ago, because they just can’t wait. Time is to slow.

The Impatient Parent

Why are parents impatient? For the parent, time is moving fast. Really fast. Tasks need to be completed, jobs finished, kids bathed, and homes cleaned. An hour in the world of a parent is like a second. Time flys. Parents are impatient for the exact opposite reason kids are. To parents, time is flying past and they just want to catch their breath. Parents want results now, because time is of the essence and we are getting older. So, they hurry and hurry in hopes of catching up with time. Time is to fast.

Well, there is no app for patience, sorry if you were scrolling feverishly to find a link to an app that would slow down time. No, there is no app for that, just the application of what you do on a daily basis to confront it. Its how we slow down time for us and teach our kids the power of waiting.

How do we slow down time? I wish I had a solid answer, its feels like I’ve been in a light speed version of life since becoming a full fledged adult. There sure are times I wish I could slow down and just breathe. My kids went from infants to toddlers to kids overnight. I went from a twenty something to a thirty something in a blink of an eye. Feels like I don’t have time to be patient. Which is when we get out selves jammed up. We begin expecting things to happen overnight, cause often it feels like our lives are changing over night.

Improvement takes a long time. Who ever said a habit is formed after 30 days quickly stopped thinking that after day 31. Change takes time. As adults we don’t feel like we have any.

“People overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years” – Tony Robbins

As parents we have to realize we have a lot of time. We can’t judge our success in a month or a year. But in 5 years of improvement, we will see a huge difference on what we have accomplished. This goes for your fitness plans, business plan, or any improvement. Things don’t happen overnight, even if they feel that way, be patient. 

This even applies to the raising of our kids. We can’t rush our kids into the perfect angels we desire, that takes time….. a lot of time…… and than more time on top of that. Accept it now, odds are your kids will be destroying your house for the next decade and changing that won’t happen over night. 

So, how do we teach our kids patience? Teaching our kids patience is much easier than teaching ourselves. Its simple, make them wait. Seriously, when they ask for something, take your time. Finish that thought, bite of food, sip of beer, or load of laundry. Make them wait until you are able to slow down and get their fruit snack or cup of juice. Baring any kind of medical emergency, kids can wait and its good for them. Parents can slow down, thats good for them to.