One can game the system and not be in situations where there could be a fight or flight response. If you hate rush-hour traffic, avoid it with a vengeance. If you don’t like waiting in a waiting room play your favourite game on your smartphone during that time.

We need to intercept the communication we do with ourselves and listen with an awareness of what we tell ourselves about a crisis situation.

Most of us have heard of the ‘fight or flight’ response while we face a problem, obstacle or danger. Impatience is the ‘fight’ part of the same.

1. Interpersonal: Remaining calm when the other person is upset or being a jerk.
2. Handling Hardships: Being able to see the positive in a serious setback.
3. Daily Annoyances: Not be irritated by the daily hassles and delays.

Patience decreases negative emotions and conditions like anxiety and depression. It also increases empathy, generosity and compassion.

Mere trying does not cut the cake of patience, and just like a marathon, one has to cultivate it with a plan, not expecting immediate positive outcomes.

When faced with a bothersome situation, use the technique known as the cognitive reappraisal and reframe the unpleasantness of the circumstances with a larger sense of integrity and background, recalling how you may also have done the same in the past, or how this is helping you grow as ...