
How to Have Career Patience in Your Twenties
They say patience is a virtue. I say it’s a virtue I haven’t been blessed with. Especially when it comes to career patience–As I’m sure you can tell in the last 3 months worth of posts. I want so desperately to make things happen, that I will try to force it, which is NOT a good plan.
And I don’t think I’m the only one lacking patience.
We live in a world with Google, instant buy, quick-turnaround shipping, real-time tech, and instant satisfaction. Why should we have to wait for things to happen, when there are ways to make it happen faster? This may be what’s preventing many of us from having career patience in our late twenties.
But how can we learn to have career patience while we’re building a path to our dreams?

How to Have Career Patience in Your Twenties:
According to the Wall Street Journal, those of us in our twenties are becoming more prudent in the workplace. We are less likely to trust corporate America’s promises on giving us that raise if we just wait for them (Check out the full article here).
That’s most likely because we entered the adult world in the middle of a financial crash–or soon afterwards. We watched as people (Like our parents) lost their job of 30 years and their hard earned pensions right along with it. Not only did we experience other people losing their jobs, we also couldn’t FIND jobs after college. And the jobs we did find paid pennies in comparison to the debt we had racked up earning a college degree.
This may be why a study by INC. in 2013 found that 63% of millennials want to be entrepreneurs. We want to make something ourselves and know that we aren’t relying on other people to allow us to live our dreams.
But even when we work for ourselves, we have to learn to be patient. Success doesn’t happen overnight and we shouldn’t force it to. Here are three things to remember when you start to have career impatience:
Learn to love the process.
I love to listen to Gary Vee on Youtube, podcasts, whenever I randomly stumble upon his name. He just lays out life and brings me back to reality EVERY time.
When I was originally trying to become an author, I would hear Gary say something along the lines of “Stop thinking things will change when you reach X. You have to love the process the whole way”. Mind blown. NOTHING will change if all we’re doing is waiting for that big break.
For me, my crutch was saying that all would change after I got published. Yet I didn’t send to 10 agents a week or continue to write new chapter after chapter every day. Instead, I worked my comfortable job, collected a paycheck, and submitted to publishers every once and a while or wrote the week before a critique. I kept saying that once I’m published, that’s when I’ll be able to give this writer thing 100% commitment.
You and I have to get REAL about what we’re doing to work towards our goals. Think about everything that you’re doing today, right this moment, that’s moving you towards your goals. If that’s not your main focus, then you MUST change your routine or you goals will always only be a dream for you.
There’s no point in saying this is something we want, if we aren’t willing to put in the work.
Know that there WILL be set backs.
I could fill an ENTIRE page with quotes on failure and only stop because my hands hurt from typing (Who know maybe I’ll share that with you someday 😉 ). We’ve all heard famous people talking about how important it is to fail. But it’s not the failure that’s the important part–It’s what happens next that matters.
The lesson that successful people are trying to teach us is that when we put ourselves out there, sometimes we’re going to be wrong or have a bad idea. That’s ok! So long as we learn from that experience and DON’T get defeated.
You need to approach your dreams knowing that there may be times when you will make the wrong decision. When that happens, you need to get back up and keep moving forward.
Keep your focus through all things.
It can be tempting to watch your friends lapping up at the bar on a Friday afternoon and want to join them. Or to slack off every week night and weekend when you’re feeling tired. But this can cause problems accomplishing your career goals in the long run (Check out my article on how to take action, if you haven’t already).
I’m not saying you should give up all your fun and free time. No–you still need a life. But where you choose to put your focus is where your priorities lie. This means if you choose to spend all your time having fun or working at a dead-end job, your goals will be pushed out farther and father.
This can cause career patience to go out the window and envy of successful people to creep in. You can’t skate into your goals. You need to keep your focus and put in the work!
Always remember the end game.
When you start to feel down on yourself or think that your career goals will NEVER come, stop and remember the end game. Think of why you started and what you want to accomplish. Your mindset is going to play a HUGE factor on whether or not you’re successful in life.
I know how hard it is to sit behind a desk where you don’t enjoy the work. To sit KNOWING that this isn’t what you want to do. And to be so bored sometimes that you want to beat your head against the surface. It’s not fun.
However, sometimes we have to put in our time in order to get where we need to be. Find ways to work on bettering your skills, and take advantage of downtime with other tasks that will move you closer to your goals. Focus on where you’re going and keep a positive mindset when things feel impossible. Your end game is coming.
It’s hard to have career patience in your twenties when it feels like you aren’t going where you need fast enough. But trust that you are! We all have to put in our time and learn the lessons we need for success before we make it. Also-we have another 40 YEARS to be successful, so enjoy the path that’s getting you there!
Check out my 90 day goal plan for a free printable to help move your closer to your goals and focus on your dreams. It’s all our own process. Keep your eyes on your own path and you’ll make it.


