Who has shown you patience in your life? I think about those that have been patient with me, and some of the first ones that come to mind are the teachers that I have had. All through school all of us have had teachers that connected with us and helped us beyond the typical school day. They may have been math or English teacher, or they may have been coaches and instructors that helped us learn a new skill.
Our most outstanding teachers in our life are our parents, and they have demonstrated the most patience with us over the years. For all the time since we have been born they have patiently helped us learn to walk, use utensils, play games, dress and the list goes on and on. Can you imagine if when you were just a year old and tried to learn to walk if your parents did not have patience with you? Could you imagine them screaming at you, “WHY CAN’T YOU GET THIS? KEEP THIS UP AND YOU WILL NEVER WALK!” Of course not. They patiently guided us, helped us, encouraged us and then we learned.
We accepted their help, appreciated their patience (even though we did not know it was patience at that time) and then we were proud of our new found abilities and promptly had them chasing us all over the house and playground. Take a minute now and think of all of the other times that others have been patient with us. Are we still accepting it with appreciation or do we take it for granted?
Expressing our gratitude for the patience of others will be amazing to them too. As an instructor, I would feel so good about a student who sincerely thanked me for my time and efforts, especially if they said they appreciated my patience.
One more way of showing our appreciation for the patience of others is to do our part and practice the skill or the instructions we have learned. If we do not practice what our parents, teachers, instructors or coaches have suggested, we are degrading any words of gratitude we may have spoken.