There is absolutely nothing new about people losing their patience. Waiting in line, getting stuck in traffic and struggling to get that internet connection back up are some of the major culprits that cause us to lose our cool.
Unfortunately, I believe that people today are more impatient than ever before.
Digital technology has changed the world for the better and simplified our lives in so many ways. It has given us the ability to streamline our professional lives, have access to unlimited information and inexpensively and quickly connect with family and friends thousands of miles away.
On the flip side, this technology has created a jaded culture expecting instant gratification. Life must move fast, efficient and the way we want it to. When things don’t go our way, we get frustrated, irritable and impatient.
While impatience leads to stress and anger, it can also cause impulsive behavior and poor judgment. As a result, impatience can lead to financial hardship.
Impatience and Financial Behavior
In research published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, it is shown that less patient people are more likely to experience financial struggles. Specifically, people who are characteristically less patient have lower credit scores and higher default rates on their debt payments.
The need for immediate gratification causes many people to make purchases they cannot afford. The housing crash of the previous decade provides strong evidence of this.
In fact, a Forbes article claims that impatience was in fact a significant factor in the economic collapse. Forbes states the following:
“Impatience led many thousands of ordinary people to seek to acquire properties of much higher value than their savings justified.”
I have discussed the importance of being an objective homeowner. it is equally, if not more important to be a patient “home buyer.”
Be Willing to Endure
Being impatient can harm you physically, emotionally and financially. Being patient can give you a sense of calm, decrease stress and cause you to make better decisions.
Slow down, cut down and simplify your life.
Remember that things sometimes don’t go our way and it does little good to stress or worry about things out of our control.
So, here’s to a more patient, and as a result, more prosperous 2013.
Image courtesy of Sara Biljana (Flickr).