All of us sometimes get frustrated with the slow pace of change. We want to see the results of a diet or exercise regimen within a week. We expect our new commitment to smiling at everyone we meet to pay immediate dividends. And we hope our generosity to others who contend with personal catastrophes will have an instantaneous effect in improving their outlooks in the face of tragedy. The lack of immediate results can cause our will to wither. We ignore the diet, abandon the exercise regimen, allow our faces to return to their habitual scowls, and withdraw from our generous ways. The frustration builds on itself.
The way out is straightforward, but it too requires discipline. Savor the process of change. Accept that change takes time. Look at life with a long view. Commit to seeing it through.
It is easy to see the way out, but hard to practice it. I’m practicing. I stumble, I fall, but I get up again, so far.
