If you`ve been following my Insta stories, you know that I am really, really tired of the snow. For the duration of February, it has been snowing 1-3 times a week anywhere from 1-13 inches in depth. I live at the bottom of a long steep driveway that has to be shoveled everytime it snows or else the driveway becomes extremely icy and dangerous. My least favorite part of having any icy driveway is that I have to park my car up at the top of the driveway or else my car literally gets stuck at the bottom and I can’t go anywhere!

This month, I’ve been so frustrated with all sorts of different things ranging from accidentally missing an appointment because I completely forgot about it to being stuck in traffic on my way to school because of the snow. The most frustrating aspect of these varying events is that they`re completely out of my control which is what makes them so frustrating in the first place.

At the beginning of this month when it started snowing so much, I would just feel so mad at the snow in general, but this week, when things have fallen out of my control, I’ve just taken a deep breath and accepted that I can’t control everything. On Thursday when my school travel time doubled due to icy conditions, I tuned in to Harry Potter and the Sacred Text podcast and prepared myself for the long ride. I really love listening to that Harry Potter podcast because it keeps me really calm and I enjoy hearing one of my favorite stories analyzed and connected to real world.

Everything is so fast paced these days. We’re constantly checking our phones, alerted by notifications every few minutes that prompt us to scroll through our feeds or return missed calls and emails. It’s stressful! The fast paced manner of our world leads to more stress when your day doesn’t run smoothly. We’ve all had those days when you’re running late and there’s a lot of traffic or you’re walking behind someone who’s traveling at a snail’s pace. In the moment, you feel like you could explode with frustration because your whole day feels like it’s being ruined!

In the scheme of things, someone walking slowly is not that big of a deal. It won’t matter in five years and it won’t even matter tomorrow. Exercising patience in these situations is better for you. Most of the time, you can’t control the outcomes of frustrating situations, but you can control your reactions.

The first step to patience is identifying what situations you can and can’t control. When you can’t control a situation, the next step is to take a deep breath and realize that you can do nothing to change the current situation, but you can accept your lack of control and truly have patience for the world around you.

But, sometimes we’re just frustrated and I get it. These are just some thoughts I’ve been having given all the snow. I hope you guys are having a good day and exercising patience when you can 🙂