Our generation has a stereotype of being impatient and unwilling to work for success. We want everything, and we want it now. Success is just supposed to happen automatically and doors are supposed to open for us with the snap of a finger. This is what we are told.
I think there is plenty of truth behind this stereotype. Technology has undoubtedly played a significant role in this (but we’ll save that topic for another day). I think more often than not, this stereotype comes to life because of the mentality that we have. So many of us are unable to strike the key balance of ambition and patience. Most of us are either ambitious and not patient or patient and not ambitious. There is a reason for this imbalance; it’s not easy to fix it. Here is how I attempt to have both…
To me, one of my greatest strengths is my ambition. I am not the smartest, but I thrive on wanting to be better and successful. However, I have found that too much ambition and not enough patience can be troublesome.
I have applied for dozens of internships in the past 12 months, and I haven’t gotten any of them. My ambition tells me I should just say, “screw them” and start my own company and become my own boss. As fun as that sounds, I am in no position to do so. I just simply don’t have the knowledge or experience to run a company. That’s my patience (and common sense) speaking. I love that I have the ambition to take on the world by myself, but I know that I need a good 10-15 years of experience working for someone else to do so.
A great family friend once told me that all of us need to put in our 30 years, and the results will start to show. This couldn’t be truer. Most of us want what our parents have. However, we need to realize the time and effort it took for them to achieve the success they possess today. We weren’t there in there 20’s when they were starting off with their careers. We don’t remember there 30’s when they were working their way up. We didn’t understand the first signs of success that they might have seen in there 40’s. Now, we finally start to see and realize the success they have achieved in their lives. However, they put in their 30 years. That’s what it takes.
My ambition gets me through school (barely), it gets me through work, and it gets me through life. I want success, and I really would love it to happen sooner than later. However, my patience tells me that if I do the work and push through the nonsense in the world, I’ll find success. I’m willing to do that and so much more.