To answer the question, is patience a virtue, we have to ask: What is virtuous anyway?
That is to say: Does displaying patience show a desired moral or ethical standard?
I think it does.
I mean, what kind of immaturity does it take to demand immediate outcomes?
“X should happen right now. And if it doesn’t, I am going to show my discontent to anyone who will listen.”
That sounds like someone still growing up.
In fact, patience is one of the great hurdles of creative success.
Understand: Nothing worthwhile comes quickly. And nothing worth building was built overnight.
The best part here is that we don’t have to always feel patient in order to act patient.
Our attitudes, work the same way.
I think the best way to answer the question “Is patience a virtue?” is: Yes. Like all other virtues, patience is a choice.
It took me years to understand that the old man was attempting to teach me something most people never learn: despite the ebb and flow of our feelings, we can control the way we act. “Patience, for instance,” Jones once remarked, “is not a feeling. Patience is the description of a behavior. One can choose to act patiently even while the feeling of frustration tempts him to choose inappropriate behavior. It is impossible to feel frustrated and feel patient at the same time, but one can be inundated with feelings of frustration and still display patience. Patience is a discipline. It is an action. Patience is a chosen response.”
-Andy Andrews, The Noticer Returns