How to Be Kind When You Have No Patience — Learn Patient Advocacy

I recently had a friend ask me for advice on how she can better share her thoughts when she is frustrated or overwhelmed. She noticed I tend to have good relationships with people and wondered how I don’t lose my cool.

First of all, I have definitely lost my cool. Multiple times. Each time this has happened, while it was a release of energy on my end, it never accomplished much in terms of moving the situation forward. At times it has made matters worse — by closing doors or damaging relationships.

As I listened to my friend tell me how she handled a tough situation, it was all too familiar. She started the call by taking out her frustrations on the other person. Once she had run out of steam, she then tried to engage in a conversation. But by then, you guessed it, the person had put up a wall and shut down.

No surprise. Who wants to help someone who has used them as an emotional punching bag?

Respect before anger

Regardless of how challenging a person is or how annoyed you are by a situation, if you don’t show the person respect, there is no way they will respect you. And it’s hard to have a conversation without respect.