patience

Patience is the capacity to endure delays, difficulties, or suffering without undue frustration. It involves emotional regulation, impulse control, and a willingness to defer immediate gratification in pursuit of longer‑term goals or acceptance of circumstances that cannot be changed.

Etymology refers to the word’s origin in Latin patientia, endurance and suffering, from pati, to suffer. The term entered English through Old French patience. Throughout history, patience has been treated as a virtue in many cultures.

In classical philosophy, patience is linked to temperance and fortitude. In Christian tradition it is one of the cardinal or theological virtues; in Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and other traditions it appears as a disciplined response to adversity, uncertainty, and the limits of control.

Psychology treats patience as a facet of self-regulation and delayed gratification. It relates to emotional stability and conscientiousness, and research associates higher patience with better outcomes in finances, health, relationships, and learning, especially when individuals face stress or temptations.

Strategies to cultivate patience include mindfulness, cognitive reframing to interpret delays more charitably, deliberate exposure to mild frustration, and setting subgoals to create incremental progress. Adequate sleep, stress management, and supportive social environments also help.

Excessive or false patience can lead to passivity or tolerating mistreatment if not balanced by assertiveness and boundary setting.

Patience is context-dependent; what is patient in one situation may be imprudent in another. It is both a practical skill and a value shaping behavior and social interaction.