Patience refers to one’s ability to have self-control when having to wait and to remain calm during a difficult or annoying situation. We use our patience when we want something and we have to wait to get it.

Patience allows us to not get discouraged when we see an obstacle between us and the thing we want, or when we’re going through a difficult situation.

Every day our patience is put to the test : we have to do things that can be long, difficult and annoying, we have to stand annoying people, we expect things that don’t seem to come any time soon...

During those situations, patience is a quality that not everyone has. Some people struggle to remain patient : they get angry, they’re stressed... A patient person will manage to control their stress and remain calm.

For some philosophers, patience is a form of wisdom (see wisdom). It’s acquired by growing up : children are impatients, everything they want, they want it right now, they can’t wait and they get angry when they don’t have it. Patience is an exercise. Just like meditation (see contemplation), it requires effort, concentration and self-control to temper our restlessness.

However, even though patience is seen as a great quality, it shouldn’t become an excuse to be lazy. Indeed, since patience is a way to remain calm while waiting for something, it doesn’t allow us to get anything. Being patient also means working hard and persevere during a long task until you get the results you want and not wait for those results to come on their own.