Do you want to be a more patient person?
Many of us are impatient because we live in a culture of instant self-gratification: Almost everything we want is just a button press away. So why bother with patience at all?
It’s an important question we need to contemplate daily. That’s why I put together this list of quotes about patience to highlight its hidden benefits.
Why Read Patience Quotes
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet,” Aristotle is said to have said.
I love this inspirational quote about patience because it tells me that anything of value takes time and perseverance.
But because exercising patience is anything but easy, all of us need constant little reminders to be patient with ourselves, other people, and circumstances in our lives. And the following quotes inspire you to do just that.
100 Best Inspirational Quotes About Patience
Here’s my selection of 100 best patience quotes to support your daily mindfulness practice.
1. “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.” — Hal Borland, American author, journalist, and naturalist
2. “Learning patience can be a difficult experience, but once conquered you will find life easier.” — Catherine Pulsifer, Canadian author of Wings of Wisdom
3. “Patience is not passive; on the contrary, it is active; it is concentrated strentght.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English writer and politician
4. “Patience is the ornament of the brave. Patience is the real badge of courage; it is equally the mark of love.” — Eknath Easwaran, Indian spiritual teacher, author, and translator and interpreter of religious texts
5. “Patience is not the ability to wait but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting.” — Joyce Meyer, American author and president of Joyce Meyer Ministries
6. “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” — Leo Tolstoy, Russian author
7. “One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.” — Chinese proverb
8. “Rivers know this: There is no hurry. We shall get there some day.” — A. A. Milne, English author of the Winnie-the-Pooh books
9. “Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections, but instantly set about remedying them — every day begin the task anew.” — Saint Francis de Sales, Catholic bishop of Geneva
10. “Patience is passion tamed.” – Lyman Abbott, American theologian, editor, and author
11. “The secret of patience is to do something else in the meantime.” — Reverend Croft M. Pentz, American author
12. “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” — Aristotle, Greek philosopher
13. “Big things happen because you do a lot of small things supremely well and they compound over time.” ― Jim Collins, American Author
14. “Be patient. Everything comes to you in the right moment.” — Anonymous
15. “Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit.” — Moliere, French playwright
16. “Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.” — David G. Allen, Christian fiction author.
17. “Our patience will achieve more than our force.” — Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher
18. “The two hardest tests on the spiritual road are the patience to wait for the right moment and the courage not to be disappointed with what we encounter.” — Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist
19. “Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly ever acquire the skill to do difficult things easily.” — James J. Corbett, American world heavyweight boxing champion
20. “A noble heart never forces itself forward. Its words are as rare gems, seldom displayed and of great value.” — Zengetsu, Zen Flesh, Zen Bones
21. “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” — Arnold H. Glasow, American businessman
22. “No road is too long to the man who advances deliberately and without undue haste; and no honors are too distant for the man who prepares himself for them with patience.” — Jean de la Bruyere, French pholosopher
23. “One minute of patience, ten years of peace.” — Greek proverb.
24. “All men command patience, although few be willing to practice it.” — Thomas A Kempis, German-Dutch monk
25. “Never make your most important decisions when you are in your worst moods. Wait. Be Patient. The storm will pass. The spring will come.” — Robert H. Schuller, American pastor and motivational speaker
26. “I take things as they come and find that patience and persistence tend to win out in the end.” — Paul Kane, English writer
27. “Patience is the art of hoping.” — Luc de Clapiers, French writer
28. “Patience strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride, bridles the tongue.” — George Horne, English bishop and academic
29. “With love and patience, nothing is impossible.” — Daisaku Ikeda, Japanese Buddhist philospher
30. “Patience and the mulberry leaf become a silk gown.” – Chinese proverb
31. “The flowers you see / blooming in the sunshine / were once hidden seeds / waiting patiently for the rain.” ― Christy Ann Martine, Canadian poet
32. “If we want to live wider and deeper lives, not just faster ones, we have to practice patience — patience with ourselves, with other people, and with the big and small circumstances of life itself.” — M. J. Ryan, American bestselling author of Random Acts of Kindness series
33. “Endurance is the crowning quality, and patience all the passion of great hearts.” — James Russell Lowell
34. “To lose patience is to lose the battle.” — Mahatma Ghandi, Indian activist and leader of the Indian Independence Movement
35. “Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far.” — Swahili proverb
36. “If love is a sickness, patience is the remedy.” — African proverb
37. “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” — Saint Augustine, Christian theologian, philosopher, and bishop
38. “When you encounter various trials, big or small, be full of joy. They’re opportunities to learn patience.” — Scott Curran, Canadian author
39. “A man must learn to endure that patiently which he cannot avoid conveniently.” — Michel de Montaigne, French philosopher
40. “Two things define you: your patience when you have nothing and your attitude when you have everything.” — George Bernard Shaw, Irish playwright and political activist
41. “Patience and perseverance have magical effect before which difficulties disappear and obstacles vanish.” — John Quincy Adams, American president
42. “If you want to determine the nature of anything, entrust it to time: when the sea is stormy, you can see nothing clearly.” ― Seneca, Roman philosopher
43. “Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience.” — George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon, French naturalist, mathematician, and cosmologist
44. “He surely is most in want of another’s patience who has none of his own.” — Johann Kaspar Lavater, Swiss poet, writer, and philosopher
45. “When it comes to patience, we don’t have to change old habits; we can build better ones.” — Sue Bender, American New York Times bestselling author
46. “Patience is the remedy for every trouble.” — Plautus, Roman playwright
47. “Our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses, and disappointments; but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.” — Joseph Addison, English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician
48. “He that has no patience has nothing at all.” — Italian proverb
49. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Holy Bible Galatians 6:9 (New International Version)
50. “Patience caught the nimble hare.” – Greek proverb
51. “Stay patient and trust your journey.” — Anonymous
52. “Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy.” — Saadi Shirazi, Persian poet and writer
53. “Patience and fortitude conquer all things.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayst, lecturer, philosopher, and poet
54. “Being a good teacher takes patience; being a good doctor also takes patience. In fact, if you want to excel in anything, master any skill, patience is an asset.” — Eknath Easwaran, Indian spiritual teacher, author, and translator and interpreter of religious texts
55. “Patience is when you’re supposed to be mad but you choose to understand.” — Anonymous
56. “The keys to patience are acceptance and faith. Accept things as they are, and look realistically at the world around you. Have faith in yourself and in the direction you have chosen.” — Ralph Marston
57. “He that can have patience can have what he will.” — Benjamin Franklin, American founding father
58. “Patience is not the ability to wait. Patience is to be calm no matter what happens, constantly take action to turn it to positive growth opportunities, and have faith to believe that it will all work out in the end while you are waiting.” — Roy T. Bennett, American author of The Light in the Heart
59. “Patience you must have, my young Padawan. Have patience and all will be revealed,” — Yoda, Jedi and teacher from the Star Wars films
60. “Only with winter-patience can we bring / The deep-desired, long-awaited spring.” – Anne Morrow Lindbergh, American writer and aviator
61. “There’s no advantage to hurrying through life.” — Masashi Kishimoto, Japanese manga artist behind Naruto
62. “It is far better to endure patiently a smart which nobody feels but yourself, than to commit a hasty action whose evil consequences will extend to all connected with you.” — Charlotte Bronte, English novelist and poet
63. “One of the paradoxes of life is that being impatient often makes it harder to achieve something. As with any skill, you get better at manifesting the more you practice.” — Simon Foster, author of Manifesting Change
64. “If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow.” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist
65. “There is one form of hope which is never unwise, and which certainly does not diminish with the increase of knowledge. In that form it changes its name, and we call it patience.” — Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, English writer and politician
66. “Patience, persistence, and perspiration make an unbeatable combination for success.” — Napoleon Hill, American bestselling author
67. “Patience is an integral part of talent.” – Vicki Baum, Austrian author
68. “People who have, or believe they have talent but no patience are and remain dilettantes.” – Vicki Baum, Austrian author
69. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” — The Bible
70. “Adopt the pace of nature. Her secret is patience.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson, American author
71. “Patience is the ability to care slowly.” – John Ciardi, American poet, translator, and etymologist
72. “Patience is not about waiting, but how we act when things take longer than we expect.” – Paulo Coelho, Brazilian lyricist and novelist
73. “As the years go on a sense of deep patience comes over one; one seems to know the virtue of ripeness, and the danger of rushing events.” – Amanda Cross, American author
74. “Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold.” – Leonardo da Vinci
75. “You can’t have genius without patience.” – Margaret Deland, American author
76. “To know how to wait is the great secret to success.” — Joseph de Maistre
77. “Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action, rather it is timing; it waits on the right time to act, for the right principles and in the right way.” — Fulton J. Sheen, American bishop
78. “Patience, that blending of moral courage with physical timidity.” – Thomas Hardy, English novelist
79. “Patience makes lighter / What sorrow may not heal.” – Horace, Roman poet
80. “Patience is a form of wisdom. It demonstrates that we understand and accept the fact that sometimes things must unfold in their own time.” ― Jon Kabat-Zinn, American author and meditation teacher
81. “Patience is necessary, and one cannot reap immediately where one has sown.” – Soren Kierkegaard, Danish theologian, philosopher, and author
82. “Patience and tenacity of purpose are worth more than twice their weight of cleverness.” – T. H. Huxley, English biologist and anthropologist
83. “Patience lives in the gap between our experience of an event and our response to that experience.” – Allan Lokos, American author and meditation teacher
84. “Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius.” — Benjamin Disraeli, Prime minister of the United Kingdom
85. “Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains.” — William Penn, English writer and founder of the colony of Pennsylvania
86. “He that has patience may compass anything.” – François Rabelais, French writer
87. “Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.” – William Shakespeare
88. “How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?” – William Shakespeare
89. “Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience.” – Virgil, Roman poet
90. “Why is patience so important? Because it makes us pay attention.” ― Paulo Coelho
91. “Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. What is anything in life compared to peace of soul?” ― Francis de Sales, Catholic bishop of Geneva
92. “Some things, though right, were considered wrong for generations. Since the value of righteousness may be recognized after centuries, there is no need to crave an immediate appreciation.” — Zengetsu
93. “Talent is a long patience, and originality an effort of will and intense observation.” ― Gustave Flaubert, French novelist
94. “If chess has any relationship to film-making, it would be in the way it helps you develop patience and discipline in choosing between alternatives at a time when an impulsive decision seems very attractive.” ― Stanley Kubrick, American filmmaker
95. “The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” ― Arnold H. Glasow
96. “What we need is a cup of understanding, a barrel of love, and an ocean of patience.” ― Francis de Sales, Catholic bishop of Geneva
97. “The wonderful patience of the trail… comes to men who toil hard and suffer sore, and remain sweet of speech and kindly.” ― Jack London
98. “Patience is high virtue” — Geoffrey Chaucer, English poet and author
99. “A year doesn’t matter; ten years are nothing. To be an artist means not to compute or count; it means to ripen as the tree, which does not force its sap, but stands unshaken in the storms of spring with no fear that summer might not follow. It will come regardless. But it comes only to those who live as though eternity stretches before them, carefree, silent, and endless.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
100. “Live with cause and leave results to the great law of the universe. Pass each day in peaceful contemplation.” — Zengetsu
Complemet this list of 100 best inspirational quotes about patience with the Book of Patience: 250 Ways to a More Patient You and then revisit our meditation guide on how to practice breathing meditation.
And for more inspirational quotes to improve mindfulness, be sure to check out these articles:
100 trust quotes to improve mindfulness
100 acceptance quotes to deepen your meditation practice
100 non-judgment quotes to improve mindfulness
100 letting go quotes to get unstuck and move on
I’m a freelance writer and mindfulness advocate behind this blog. I started my meditation practice in 2014, and in 2017 I launched this website to share what I learn with others. Here are the three things you can do here:
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