Editor's Note: Now here's a guy who failed "wait training" . . . and a wife who learned the importance of not making others wait. On the other hand, the decision to take waiting in stride and not let emotions rise up as a result can go a long way to improved health in these times of "queing up" for everything.

Wait Training: The Power of Patience

by Steve Goodier

Perhaps you can relate. One man was to meet his wife downtown and spend some time shopping with her. He waited patiently for 15 minutes.

Then he waited impatiently for 15 minutes more.

After that, he became angry. Seeing one of those photograph booths nearby (the kind that accepts coins into a slot and takes four shots

while you pose on a small bench), he had an idea. He assumed the most ferocious expression he could manage, which wasn't difficult under the circumstances, and in a few moments he was holding four small prints that shocked even him!

He wrote his wife's name on the back of the photographs and handed them to a clerk behind the desk. "If you see a small, dark lady with brown eyes and an apologetic expression, apparently looking for someone, would you please give her this?" he said.

He then returned to his office content that, if a picture is worth a thousand words, then four photos must be a full-blown lecture!

His wife saved those pictures. She carries them in her purse now. Shows them to anyone who asks if she is married...

How are you with patience? One person calls it "wait-training." It seems that there is always something we are waiting for. We wait on traffic and we wait in lines. We wait to hear about a new job. We wait to complete school or to retire. We wait to grow up or for maturity in a child. We wait for a decision to be made. We wait for someone to change his or her mind.

Patience is an essential quality of a happy life. After all, some things are worth waiting for. Every day presents plenty of opportunities for wait training.

We can resent waiting, accept it or even get good at it! But one thing is certain - we cannot avoid it. How is your wait training coming along?

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Steve Goodier is a newspaper columnist and author of numerous books on personal development. Visit his site for more information, free eBooks or to sign up for his ezine newsletter of Life, Love and Laughter at http://LifeSupportSystem.com

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