Take a moment right now to think about a situation that is requiring your patience. What could you do right now to gain a measure of control or pleasure in another arena of your life? Waiting for potentially scary test results or to get a call back about a date? Instead of brooding, can you think of something fun or interesting to do in the meantime? How about bringing a magazine when you have to stand in line at the DMV or mentally plan dinner in traffic?
To have patience doesn't mean to dwell endlessly on that which confounds us. It is perfectly all right to put our mind toward something else.
— M. J. Ryan in The Power of Patience