Patience - Key to Success and Sanctity

In 1970, Walter Mischel and his colleagues at Stanford University conducted a landmark study in the social sciences—the Marshmallow Experiment. The experiment was designed to see what strategies preschool-aged children take to resist the temptation of eating a marshmallow set right in front of them by researchers who then left the room. The children were instructed not to eat the marshmallows for at least fifteen minutes until the researcher came back in the room. They were told that if they were able to resist the urge, they would get rewarded with a second marshmallow. Some of the children were able to resist and hold out for the second marshmallow; some were not. Years later, in a follow-up study, those who were able to hold out longer as young kids showed better life outcomes in their adult lives, including having higher SAT scores, better educational attainment, and even better BMI (body mass index). Since this groundbreaking study, the ability to delay gratification has been found to be correlated to other factors such as marriage, sexuality, addictive behaviors, spending habits, career choices, and the pursuit of higher education. To be able to delay gratification for a more positive future consequence is indeed an important trait. Patience is indeed a virtue that leads to good postive things. And I have a feeling that it is even a key virtue that leads not only to practical aspects of a successful life but also to the important calling of God--our call to be saints.

As Saint Augustine said, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Patience is essential in knowing the ways and will of God and in realizing the higher things in life. Dietrich von Hildebrand, a Catholic philosopher and theologian, wrote in his book Transformation in Christ: On the Christian Attitude about “Holy Patience,” noting, “The requirements of the moment, no matter how imperious, can never displace or overshadow his attention to higher values.”

Patience allows us to be humble and to submit to God’s perfect will, even when it means we have to wait patiently. It is an act of surrender to God. God has his timing, and we must not be too focused on getting things our way and right away that we forget God’s sovereignty over time. No matter how comfortable, convenient, and fast things get, we must not forget that it is God who, according to Dietrich von Hildebrand, “determines the proper day and hour for the fruitful performance of certain actions and even more exclusively, the ripening of our seeds and the harvest of our labors."

So yes, patience is a key trait to have in order to be successful in many of our endeavors in life, but it is most especially essential in what should be our most important pursuit in life--holiness. As Saint Mother Teresa said, "Don't pray for success, pray for faithfulness."