Impatience is not always negative. In some cases, impatience helps us to act quickly in certain situations.
For starters, it generates a great deal of anxiety. It may happen that nothing ever satisfies the impatient person, leading to unhappiness.
Wanting immediate results can result in constant disappointment, both in oneself and in others.
Overcoming impatience must be a gradual process that, precisely, requires a lot of patience with oneself.
If these tips I give you do not work for you after 4 or 5 weeks, I suggest seeking help from a psychologist who will assist you.
1. Practice mindfulness:
Yes! I swear that mindfulness is one of the best practices you can do to overcome impatience: I personally was able to overcome my anxiety with this practice.
Look for mindfulness techniques on YouTube, Spotify, etc. They will help you relax and be more present, stop thinking so much about the future.
Breathing is one of the most important keys here.
If you are very impatient, I suggest trying to inhale air into your lungs for 5 seconds and exhale the air for 8 seconds. Do it 5 or 6 times, you will see how quickly you calm down.
2. Set realistic goals:
You need to set more realistic, achievable goals, break them down into smaller steps.
This way you will stay motivated and less anxious about the results.
3. Practice active patience:
Learn to accept that certain things take time and effort. Instead of focusing on waiting, look for ways to make that time productive or enjoyable.
For example, you can dedicate yourself to learning something new (playing the guitar or piano, singing, public speaking), engage in an activity that relaxes you (walking, gardening, listening to music) or simply enjoy the present moment.
It is important to "cut" impatience: any activity that takes you out of your routine, so that impatience is not the driving force of your life.
4. Develop relaxation techniques:
Practice relaxation. I recommend yoga, but you can also meditate or, as I wrote above, try with slower breathing.
5. Identify automatic thoughts:
Observe which thoughts arise in your mind when you feel impatient: write them down on a piece of paper or on the computer. Also write down what led to that thought (how that idea originated) and what feeling it generated.
Once you start identifying these thoughts, you will have to start replacing them with more positive and realistic ones. Believe it or not, it works. It worked for me.
Once again, if you can't calm your anxiety and impatience, I suggest trying with a psychologist who does behavioral therapy, which is the best therapy to address these types of behaviors.