There are two skills that we are never taught but yet we have mastered them?
Have you stopped to think about why we are selfish and impatient? No one taught us to be selfish and impatient.
Mom, Dad, Gramps, Grams, Auntie or Uncle never sat us down and said, “Today I am going to teach you how to be selfish and tomorrow we will talk about how to be impatient.”
I can assure you that never happened. However, I can also assure you they did teach you that.
For reason or another human beings like to adhere to Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. Basically, it is survival of the one that will do anything to survive. Over time (eons) some ground animals grew wings to escape predators. Others ran faster than their natural enemies, while others moved so slow the predator would believe the animal to be dead. They did what they had to survive, as do humans.
We are selfish because we want. We are impatient because we want it now! The longer we have to wait the greater chance the prize (food, shelter, etc.) goes to someone else. We are selfish because we want to be in control.
So how did we learn to be Selfish and Impatient?
We learned it by observing others be selfish and impatient. Yes, our parents, our siblings, our relatives are who we observed and they most certainly taught us. It may be a hard pill to swallow but it happened, happens, and will happen. There are no two-ways around it.
What now?
You make a conscience effort to minimize being selfish. No one can be 100% selfless. Those that say they are well are only fooling themselves. It is human nature to be selfish. Being selfish is what keeps us alive, it keeps us moving forward.
What about being impatient?
The same as being selfish can be said for being impatient. No one can be 100% patient. Eventually, you give up waiting for the barista to make your Cinnamon Dulce Latte, you walk up to the counter and ask for a status on your order. Being impatient is also human nature, especially when others are getting theirs before you get yours.
So what can you do?
You can work on being less selfish and more patient. However, it is something that you have to work on all your life. Remember, that being selfish and impatient is a reaction to how we deal with others. Others are getting the attention and what about you? What about me? What about I?
Dealing with others will be the only way we grow, live, thrive, and succeed. We need others around us in order to move forward in life. We need others to help keep us grounded. Others will be more or less selfish, more or less patient. Interacting with others will help us move forward, it always has been and it always will.
While being Selfish and Impatient is never taught it is learned. Just like we learned to be impatient and selfish we can also learn to be patient and selfless and whether we like it or not it will take hard work to undo what we learned so long ago and for so long. It can be done. Now get to work.
…and it’s Thursday.
