Patience or Assertiveness: Which works best?

Patience has its place. It can be a first line of defense against some otherwse stressful aspects of parentng partnering and getting along in the workplace. It is indespensable in the hurry-up-and-wait nature of modern life.

Here are some tips from Harris Methodist -- Regarding Women. To quote:

Whether a [person] chooses to practice patience or assertiveness in any particular situation, they should:

• Feel deserving and avoid routinely discounting [one's] own desires, feelings or objectives in favor of someone else's.
• Identify sources of stress or dissatisfaction. Consider how a response of patience or action might contribute to change.
• Express feelings in straightforward, positive terms. Avoid blaming or judging.
• Ask for cooperation.
• Be prepared to include outside sources -- a close friend or family membr, physician, mental health professional or cleric -- as avenues of emotional support or additional perspective.
  

Exercising patience is eased by practice. Take a breath before speaking, or count to two. Ask yourself, "Will I make a convert here?" If not it is not worth the effort to get into a situation. If so, assertiveness messages stay in the "I." Words such as "I think, I feel," work better than phrases beginning with "you."

My topical post today at South by Southwest and The Reaction is about politics.

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