Being incredibly patient is hard to cultivate against the backdrop of a rapid change that seems to characterize our modern world.
A constant stream of news cycles on innovation and cultural shifts creates an atmosphere of perpetual transformation that can leave some of us feeling perpetually behind.
Sometimes, I do wonder if the world is really moving fast or is it our collective perception that has accelerated.
I mean, this digital environment we inhabit is great at creating an illusion of speed that doesn't necessarily reflect deeper realities.
For the most part, rapid change doesn't happen rapidly, at least from a shorter time frame.
A good example of that is this current trend on artificial intelligence.
Sure, we see headlines suggest a revolution occurring overnight, but the truth is the underlying technologies have been developing gradually for decades, building upon incremental advances in many respective fields such as computing and data science.
I think it goes without saying that we often mistake visibility for velocity, in that the things we see changing—smartphones, fashion, popular discourse—create a sense of whirlwind transformation, and the fundamental aspects of human experience and societal structures evolve at a much slower pace, almost imperceptibly.
Of course, this is coming from the presumption that human behavior, at its core, remains remarkably consistent throughout time.
We more or less still seek connection, meaning, and security, even as the vehicles for these pursuits transform.
Time And Perspective
I think keeping pace with change, from the modern attention economy's perspective, is almost impossible.
However, developing a calibrated sense of what deserves our immediate attention versus what benefits from patient observation is a great form of modern wisdom.
Apart from technological necessities that directly impact our livelihoods,, I'm more keen on patient observation with regards to cultural movements or scientific paradigm shifts that give a vague sense of change without any without any substantial short-term impact on our lived experience.
Part of the reasons is that the true significance of such type of changes often gets revealed with time and perspective, both of which I've come to value more with each passing year.
Especially in today's world, some innovations are merely noise masquerading as a loud signal.
Needless to say, both adaptability and discernment can create the needed flexibility to incorporate valuable new ideas and methods into our lives and still maintain the wisdom to recognize which changes matter in the long run.
In the long run, time is your best friend, provided you don't squander it chasing ephemeral trends.
In this sense, patience could also be viewed as developing a healthier relationship with time itself.
Meaningful change—in ourselves, our communities, our understanding of the world—usually follows a rhythm that cannot be rushed, regardless of how quickly our feeds refresh.
Move deliberately, evaluate carefully, and occasionally step outside the stream of constant new updates and ask: What changes truly matter? And which ones will still matter a decade from now?
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