We live in hurried times. Text messages, email, and many other things vie for our attention. At work, managers ask, “How’s that coming along?” sometimes just hours after you’ve given them an update about a task.
It would seem to many that patience is a thing of the past. But is it really?
People still wait for things. Granted, in many instances, we’ve figured out ways to make those waits shorter, but if you are human, you’ve probably waited for something this week. And even if you turned to your smartphone or some other distraction…really, that’s another form of patience. (You’ve still accepted the wait.)
But then there are those weird people like Christopher, who still take pleasure in simply sitting and waiting. He’d argue, though, that there’s not much difference between the thoughts in his head and someone going to their phone to pass the time. Some might say, “Well, he’s patiently waiting and thinking about story ideas, instead of wasting time on his phone,” but Shawn has written multiple novels on his phone.
This is all getting a bit off topic…
This week, we talk about patience (and the need for immediacy).
* * *
We begin by talking about the first thing we remember “needing” right away…and whether or not we were patient kids. Also, we discuss whether or not we are patient adults.
Has the Internet affected patience and people’s need for immediacy? We chat about that before moving on to how patience and immediacy have affected trends in productivity.
Next, we talk about how patience and immediacy factor into the work most people do. After that, find out if we prefer a slower or faster pace of life.
We often talk about Millennials on the show. Many older people say Millennials lack patience, but is that lack of patience truly real; and if so, is it truly the domain of that generation…or has the urge for immediacy affected other generations as well?
We discuss whether or not patience and immediacy are mutually exclusive ideas, and whether immediacy ever has its place and if patience isn’t always such a virtue.
And we wrap it all up in the future: will we find more ways to do all the things right now, or will we become more patient for some reason?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Leave a Reply