By Leo Babauta

Something I’ve become more aware of for myself is how impatient I am to be done with a goal I’m working on. I want to be already there!

Can you relate to that impatience?

We want to be done getting fit already. We want to already be in shape to run that 10K race. We want to already be good at the language we’re learning. We want to already have our house decluttered.

We want the goal to be done already.

The funny thing is … when we get there, we rarely celebrate. We move on to the next goal, impatient to have that one done with.

There’s nothing wrong with this impatience, but I notice that it usually has me too ambitious and setting myself up for disappointment. I’m also usually frustrated that things aren’t progressing fast enough, and I will sometimes quit when things are taking too long.

I don’t have easy answers to this, other than to encourage you to notice your own impatience, and to have a little compassion for yourself when you notice it.

It’s also a good practice to practice a little patience — instead of being in a rush to get there already, we can enjoy the process. This is a process of savoring, of bringing a sense of curiosity in the moment, of appreciation and gratitude for what’s in front of us rather than what we’re hoping things to be.

How can you love the process you’re in rather than being impatient for it to be over?