Pause

The most beneficial aspect of learning and practicing patience is the pause. What is the pause? The pause is an intentional break in time between any perception from the environment or animal impulse within and any reaction, action or avoidance. Think before you speak. Think before you act. Think before you ignore. 

Some of us have rapidly firing brains, due to neurological stimulants/transmitters which our bodies naturally create at higher levels. We are particularly prone to fast responses and premature actions. I have had to learn to temper my mind. While snappy repartee may be funny in a Marx Brothers movie, it can be poison in real relationships. Rushing to fix things without a pause for consideration often leads to solutions which require a cascade of costly retro-fits. Making a snap judgment to ignore a situation can lead to the development of a more complex series of problems in time.

I have discovered useful voices in my head. One says simply, "Shut up." I have another which says, "Think before you leap." Learning to listen to these cautionary voices has helped me to become more patient than I could have imagined when I was young.