Patience Can Be More Than Waiting – Remarkable TV

Is patience just waiting?

When you think of patience, do you think of just sitting around, waiting for something to happen?

A lot of people do. And while that’s part of patience, it’s not the whole story.

Today, I want you to think about patience differently.

Proactive Patience

We often think patience means doing nothing. But there's another kind of patience — proactive patience.

Proactive patience is about being somewhere between sitting still and forcing action. It’s about being intentional. It’s about choosing to pause without losing momentum.

It’s not just waiting for something to happen. It's moving forward in other ways while you wait.

How Do You Practice Proactive Patience?

Here are some things to think about:

• Be intentional.
  When you realize you need to slow down, do it on purpose — and stay aware.

• Keep your goals clear.
  It’s easy to lose sight of where you’re headed if you’re just "waiting." Stay focused on the bigger picture.

• Reflect and act.
  Reflection isn’t just sitting and thinking. It's thinking so you know what you’ll do next.

• Trust the process.
  Growth is never a straight line. Progress includes ups, downs, and plateaus. Don’t lose sight of the long game.

• Keep a long-term view.
  When you’re frustrated by slow progress, zoom out. Waiting is usually just a small moment in a much bigger journey.

It's a Both/And World

In my new book, Flexible Leadership: Navigate Uncertainty and Lead with Confidence, I talk about the "both/and" mindset.

It’s not “do I wait or do I move?”
It’s “how do I wait and move?”

Proactive patience is a great example of that mindset.

You can wait and move.
You can reflect and act.

When you lead with proactive patience, you keep momentum — even when it looks like you're standing still.

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