Monthly Archive for December, 2007Page 2 of 2

How to Trick Yourself out of Impatience


Have you ever been impatient while waiting for something?

If you answered “No”, then you’re lying. Impatience is part of the human experience. So what does one do about impatience? Well, one’s patience does grow with time, but I’ve discovered a handy life-hack that’s helped me, especially when waiting on someone to complete a task.

The process is simple. When you are waiting to be interrupted by someone, your impatience will make time seem to pass slower, and stress results. However, I have found a way to perceptively shorten this time:

How to Perceptively Shorten Time

  1. Write 3 things you’ve been meaning to do but haven’t
  2. Do 1 of those things NOW! (the longer this task takes, the better)
  3. Cross it off the list with a sense of accomplishment
  4. Continue onto the next thing until…..
  5. You’re interrupted!

Eventually, you will be interrupted. As if by magic, the other person will seem to interrupt you sooner, than if you had been simply sitting in anticipation. While this solution is rather obvious, one would be surprised how few people consciously apply the setups above.

Interruption vs. Impatience

One could jest that this works because the universe favors interruption over impatience, that the universe would just as soon ignore impatience but jump at the opportunity to supply interruption. Of course, this is just anthropomorphization. Exactly why this process works is up for debate, whether it be that a distracted mind cannot measure time or that a productive mind invites distractions.

Either way, try it for yourself, and let me know if it works for you.

Return to the Rainbow Rocks


As you may have seen in the Byteful Gallery, I returned to the riverbank not long ago. Time and time again, I have realized that one can always learn from returning to a place one has photographed before because almost everything has changed:

  • The light (caused by the time of day, season, and cloud cover)
  • The temperature (which gives way to other interesting effects)
  • Placement of objects themselves (by animal life or even human intervention)

On this occasion, the cold had struck and much was frozen. After approaching my old photographic subjects, I began to realize just how much the light had changed. It seemed colder, grayer, and perhaps sadder. I did find a few gems, though, such as a Tiny Pine Twig on the yellow bench. Rest assured I did not put the twig there – I only photograph what I see. The rainbow rocks in the sand didn’t look colorful this time, but those on the edge of the river were beautiful. A tiny ice shelf formed a veil over some pebbles, and reminded me of Saturn’s rings.

Amazing what one can find in the tiny details of nature.

Enjoy.

— — —
Photos from this trip are in the Byteful Gallery. All photos in the Byteful Gallery can be used as desktop wallpapers because they are high resolution (1920×1440) just as the fullscreen & widescreen wallpapers are.