Be not afraid of going slowly be afraid of standing still

Sometimes we get frustrated because things do not move fast enough or we are too close to the situation that we cannot see any progress, even if we know that things do not just happen overnight.

We have to concentrate on building a good solid and strong foundation and learn as you go. Life is about learning our lessons and growing as a person. I am very guilty of this; sometimes I become impatient with myself. Not sure if it is just human nature that wants instant gratification, maybe it is the era that we are currently living where you do not have to wait for news; it gets delivered to your email or to your cell phone.

We sometimes tend to rush through things fear that someone else might “beat us” to the finish line. We are always in a rush that we may not really live our lives.
Personally, I can say that I have a blurry recollection of 5 years of my life. I was a single mother working full time and also attending school at time full time too. My life at the time consisted of waking up early taking 2 buses to take my children to school. Once the children were in school I would take the train to work. The train ride was an hour long, if I had a seat I would read my reading assignments, work 8 hours, no lunch so that I can leave at 5pm. Take the train to school, again if I was lucky enough I would get a seat which meant I could read some more. I would attend school until 9:30 pm then take 2 buses to my mother’s house. At the time my mother was living in New York she relocated to New Jersey, but while she was living in New York my children would stay with her until I was done with school. I would arrive at my mother’s house around 10:00pm and would pick up my children and take 2 buses home arrive to my home between 11:00 – 11:30 pm, this time I would check the children’s homework and hear all about their day. Once the children were in bed I would sit down and do my homework.

Looking back now to those 4 years they seem like a blur, I kept moving get from one place to another as my schedule dictated, but I was not really living, It was really important to me that I graduated in 4 years. It was one of my personal goals. I am by far my worst critic; no one can beat up on me the way I beat up on myself. I am very impatient with myself when I do not see progress. I kept hearing an old Chinese proverb “Be not afraid of going slowly be afraid of standing still.” I just took it too far. Once I was able to see that I was afraid of standing still I was able to start slowing down and make sure I enjoy myself.

If all I am doing is pushing myself and I am not enjoying myself what good would that do to us? Do you sometimes become impatient with your progress? How do you overcome that?