Nearly ten years ago, a friend of mine shared with me this quote from Saint Frances de Sales: “Have patience with all things but first with yourself.”

Patience can be hard to have.

We’re told to have patience with our children and our spouses as it helps us get through complicated problems. But are we having patience with ourselves? That’s a whole different thing.

How many of us want to lose weight or be fit or solve a problem?

I know that I’ve been frustrated in my growth and acceptance of my pace over the years. It’s not easy.

Years ago, when I tore my Achilles’ tendon, I was in a cast for weeks. I had patience enough (mostly) with being in the cast, but it was the physical therapy that went on for months after I was out of the cast that I found most difficult. I wanted to be able to walk and run again.

From the time I tore my tendon until I could run again, it was six months.

Maybe you are dealing with sickness or a relationship problem, or you’re trying to overcome a deeply personal problem.

How would things be different for you if you had more patience and treated yourself kindly?

When we think about self-care, it’s not only what we eat and drink, how much we exercise, but it’s also our mental state. Pushing ourselves to go faster or berating ourselves for failures and mistakes is not helpful.

We’re human. We make mistakes.

I know that I do each day.

How to practice patience for yourself?

Look yourself in the mirror and say these words: “I am here for you.” And then give yourself a big hug.

If we’re embarrassed or feel funny to exhibit love and concern to ourselves, that’s okay. Self-care and love take practice.

What if you were to get up each day and be thankful for who you are and for the pace that you are working?

These days everything is about how fast things go. We want things now and have to get instant gratification.

But life isn’t like that. We have need time to fall in love or to grieve the death of a friend. Time heals wounds, and the patience we allow ourselves to have the time we need is critical.

When you go about your day, take a few minutes to write down what you’re working on. And then give yourself space and time to grow and heal.

Patience for yourself is critical.

Be kind to yourself.

Like what you’ve read? Be sure to check out my other posts in my Let Go and Be Free blog.