Lack of patience is a popular subject these days because of the booming development of modern and quickly accessible technology. These inventions are diminishing the time needed to collect information from hours to just seconds.

Consequently, we’ve formed the bad habit of expecting all answers and receiving all information immediately.

This has resulted in bad behavior such as complaints of having to wait in a long line at the store or rushing around other drivers who are driving within the posted speed limit. I can hear all the honking horns now.

According to the article “How to Have Patience Every Day” by Independent Publishing Professional Ingela Ratledge, a study was conducted in 2012 by Massachusetts University pointing out that approximately 25 percent of website browsers decided to leave an online clip if the loading is just more than five seconds rather than wait for it to load.

Impatience creates problems for everyone and negatively affects relationships, according to the article “Having Patience Benefits You and Those Around You,” at operationmeditation.com.

“Lack of patience will often make you irritatable and not a very nice person to be around.”

In addition, mistakes are more often made by someone who is impatient because the person is in such a rush to get things done. Therefore, he or she rarely spends enough time collecting information and assessing the situation carefully before making decisions.

Practicing patience is good for people in many ways.

An online article, “The Quality of Patience” written by Consulting Psychologist Shirley Vandersteen, said, “If we pay close enough attention and can quiet our minds, we may even see the past, present, and future all in one moment.”

Vandersteen said taking life easy creates inner peace, especially for those who are stressing or facing big problems.

Furthermore, she said, those people’s lives are usually happier and calmer because they know how to keep their minds uncluttered.

Their relationships also are better because others will feel comfortable being around them.

Fortunately, the habit of impatience is changeable. There are some simple tricks to help build patience.

Breathing deeply is the most useful technique when needing to destress and be patient. It helps to immediately slow down the body and mind.

Another method is daily meditation. In 2011, a brain-imaging study conducted by Yale University found that people who meditate frequently are able to control the parts of the brain associated with anxiety.

In today’s fast-paced world, patience is an essential and valuable characteristic. It not only makes people happier and eases stress, but it also helps them avoid making a situation worse.

Learning to be patient is the way to go.