Impatience vs. Laziness

This classic battle has probably gone on throughout the entire history of mankind; between people and even within each person.

Recently my frustration with this conflict peaked and forced me to act. My mother always condemned my lack of patience, but these days I get praise for it. I would like to think that it was something I learned over time and acquired with maturity. But looking back over recent events, I question that. I accept that it is nothing I accomplished; intentionally or otherwise. Society changed; not me.

I am old enough to remember having to wait a week or more to hear from friends by mail. Having moved frequently I was very aware that it would take a few days for my letter to reach its destination, a day or two for a reply to be written, and then a few more days for their letter to travel to my new home. Today, even the mail only takes a fraction the time it did in the 1960’s to go from one side of the country to the other; on the rare occasions when we slow down enough to actually mail hand-written letters.

Not surprisingly the younger generations have come to expect immediacy – in everything. “Wait” has become an even fouler 4-letter word than those my mother threatened to wash out of my mouth with soap. But older generations have not been immune to the “NOW!” virus. We all wish “wait” was no longer even in our vocabulary at times, but making someone wait should not always be treated as a criminal act.

Savoring, creating, appreciating, understanding, all take time. They are valued largely because they take more time to accomplish. And because they require, time and patience, they are not easy and not everyone does them equally well. Taking the time to do something well should not be condemned as laziness or lack of commitment by those who must rely on others to accomplish such tasks. If they could do it better or quicker, they would most certainly have done it themselves. It’s just the way we are.

The impatient ones in our lives may not be solely to blame, though. We all have been lazy at times. I doubt anyone is unfamiliar with after having agreed to something, and then delaying because either we lost interest or actually disliked what was being asked of us. Because our pride, ego, or something else keeps us from speaking up and admitting we just don’t want to do something, others have learned to suspect this scenario any time things don’t happen as quickly as they expect. What the impatient person needs to learn, is to either ask if this is the problem, or accept that their time frame may not be the same as someone else’s and find a way to work with that; other than to lay blame and cause conflict.

Conflict, blame and misdirection wastes more time and effort than even the laziest person.