I continue to be amazed at how perceptive and insightful children can be. This week, I asked my almost six year old daughter, Adelynn, what she thought was an important part of leadership. Her response; 
“Daddy, I think having patience - like in line in the lunchroom when everyone is waiting, you shouldn’t push or tell people to hurry up, just wait your turn.”

I got to thinking about how many times I get frustrated when things don’t go exactly according to plan. Recently I haven’t left myself much margin. I pack my schedule, overcommit and put too much on my plate. Most times I can get it all done, sometimes with my back against the wall, but at what expense? Often it brings on undue stress into my life and impacts my ability to be present, especially when everything doesn’t fall perfectly into place. All of a sudden the person taking their sweet ass time in the check out line at the grocery store makes my blood boil because I’ve got places to be and things to do. Or, I don’t notice when my family needs my attention because there’s a deadline looming. As 2023 kicks off, I needed to hear that word from my daughter: “Patience”.

Being patient is not about sitting back and doing nothing. Being patient is about being able to handle what life throws your way. That is why I love the term “Patiently Persistent”. It implies that you are in pursuit of what you want, but not rushing it. You are making progress, but not moving so fast that you miss everything going on around you. In fact, when we are “patiently persistent” we make better decisions because we pick up on life’s cues that point us in the right direction. Most things in life can’t be forced. As much as we would like to have everything happen on demand exactly when we need it to, sometimes we need to trust life’s process and the teachings along the way.

Last week our family took a trip to Iceland. I must admit, I thought seeing the Northern Lights was going to be a given. I didn’t realize that the conditions and timing have to be just right in order to see the magnificent green lights in the sky. Or that some people freeze outside for hours on excursions and still don’t spot them. Each night on our trip, April would check a special app that indicated the best location and percentage chance of viewing and then we would check the sky at all hours of the night. She didn’t get frustrated or doubt our chances, she just said; “We’ll try again tomorrow.” By our final night I was ready to go to bed, when April said we’ve got a good chance in thirty minutes. I sluggishly walked over to the window and peered outside into the dark sky. As I turned to walk away at midnight, April exclaimed, “There they are!” She raced around the house to wake everyone up, we threw on a few pieces of winter clothing and scrambled outside to see a beautiful display of green lights dancing in the sky. It was really impressive and wouldn’t have been possible without April’s patient persistence.

I’m grateful for Adelynn’s prompt about patience and for April’s persistence in seeing the Northern Lights. I’m feeling eager and ready for 2023 and the challenges that lie ahead. I’m going to continue to be persistent in chasing my goals and dreams and hopefully I’ll be a little more patient along the way.