Question-Week ending Sunday 07/18/04:
Who on our list to you seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them? Please read our Pre-Poll Commentary before taking this poll.
Pre-Poll Commentary:
Our 25th keyword in our poll series on moods and emotions is PATIENCE. For the purpose of this poll we will describe PATIENCE as "an emotion that emphasizes calmness, self-control, and the willingness or ability to tolerate people or actions that may annoy us."
The key words in our meaning above are calmness and tolerance. Staying calm in many circumstances seems to go against human nature. Thus, patience seems to be a learned emotion that becomes more habitual with practice.
I think the metaphor "patience is a virtue" says a lot about this emotion. All loving and caring people should want to practice more patience with their spouses, children or parents. But somehow it seems we have less patience with those we love and care about intensely, than we do with clients, friends or even strangers.
I have been told by my own children that I display more patience with my clients than I do with them. It does bother me to admit this, but it is true. When trying to figure out why this is so, I can only come up with the following. Because I love my children so much...I expect more from them than I do from my clients. I expect that they will value my judgment and take my loving and sound advice more seriously. I expect that they will be thankful for the sacrifices I have always made for them and show a "special type" of appreciation for my efforts. So I have to ask myself "am I setting my expectations too high for them?"
By the time an individual has been roaming the earth for thirty years or so, it becomes quite apparent that "patience truly is a virtue." It's an emotion that when practiced daily, definitely enhances one's happiness in life. Thus, by taking the time to write this poll and ponder its incredible value, it has brought to my own consciousness my need to seek more patience in my own life with my family. Hopefully it will do the same for all who read this commentary and take part in this poll.
If we can find patience when dealing with clients, friends and strangers, we should dig down deep and find it when interacting with the MOST important people in our lives. Let us know how you feel in this week's poll. This poll will end on Sunday 07/18/04, when the results will be displayed.
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Results:
42% of voters chose "MY CHILDREN" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
25% of voters chose "MY PARENTS" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
18% of voters chose "MY SPOUSE OR LOVER" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
14% of voters chose "MY FRIENDS" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
01% of voters chose "MY CLIENTS" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
00% of voters chose "MY PHYSICIANS" from our list, whom they seem to have the "LEAST PATIENCE" with, when interacting with them.
Post-Poll Commentary:
It appears from this week's poll that our clients absorb a great deal of our patience. Only 1% of our respondents voted that they seem to display the LEAST patience with them. However, they were outdone by physicians in this poll. No one chose them at all. I guess when we need physicians bad enough; we are willing to wait an hour or more past our appointment time in their waiting room. We would never wait an hour in line to buy something at a store; nor would we let our spouse or kids keep us waiting for an extra hour without an ensuing heated debate.
However one thing I have learned from our 106 polls completed to date, is that our lives are not so unique from each other. We all face the same type of problems, challenges and situations in life. Whenever you feel like your luck is running low, just start reading some of our polls and you'll see that you are probably more "normal" than you think.
And with regard to patience - it's quite apparent that we probably need to display more with our children, parents and lovers. They deserve more patience than anyone else in our life. Not just immediately after reading this poll, but every day going forward. Let's all do our part to make this positive change that will definitely bring more happiness into our lives.