“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”- Jean-Jacques Rousseau
If everything in the world seems even faster than it was just a few years ago, that’s because it probably is. Emails, text messages, social media messages, and nearly every way we communicate with each other is instant.
In many ways, this has made life and business far more efficient. We don’t need to mail a letter or a check in order to make a deal. We don’t have to leave a voicemail for a loved one who isn’t home and wait for them to return our call anymore.
However…
These new norms have also created new expectations that everything is going to be quick, easy, and even instant. Unfortunately, that’s not the way that many things really work.
Whether you are building a relationship with a prospective client, researching a new company you may want to work at, the truth is that building something you want to last is going to take time.
Taking time means having patience.
Having patience is difficult if you expect something to happen instantly.
The payoff, however, is always worthwhile.
You see, one of the things today’s society is missing is taking pride in the work. We all want everything right now, and in situations where we CAN have it right now, there is no sense in extending the process. Let’s just go for the gold.
We can not, however, rush the things that are even better when we take our time.
Relationships, connection, business ventures, building something that matters. These all require long term work and even maintenance. They also, however, have a much larger payoff than something we can obtain with just the click of a button.
When we can do something instantly, it loses value. We will appreciate it for a short while when it first arrives, but then we are left wondering why the feeling doesn’t last.
It doesn’t last because there was no real emotional investment in obtaining the “thing,” whatever it was. Maybe you made a quick sale, or ordered food that showed up in 15 minutes instead of cooking your spouse a great meal. Whatever it is, there seemed to be something lacking.
That’s because the payoff is in the patience. It may not feel like it in the moment, but the more time it takes to build something, the longer it tends to last.
