Why young people should be more patient

I’m impatient, and that is how I have been for a long time.

I remember after graduating from A levels in 2007, I wanted to sharpen my rugby skills fast enough so that I could play for the Kenya 7s alongside my hero Humphrey Kayange. Well, that did not go according to plan.

I also wanted to run my own successful restaurant — just so I could claim rights to the "young and successful" club instead of going to university and later working for a corporate entity like many of my classmates.

In short, no matter what it was, I always wanted instant results. Millennials, a rather broad word, is used to refer to those of us born between 1980 and the late 1990s.

There are about 2.5 billion of us around the world. Some in the group are mature enough for people to take us seriously but young enough not to take ourselves too seriously.

Some do not dream of wearing a suit seated in a corporate office. In fact, a significant number of us dream of starting our own businesses.

AMBITION

It gets even more interesting. Many a well-meaning parent tell their children to study hard and get good grades to improve their chances of having a good life.

Yet millennials remain the most educated generation with the highest share of unemployed people and that most university graduates have jobs that do not necessarily require a four-year degree.

Perhaps this is one reason young people are impatient. They have grown to distrust the established system.

As millennials, we all have big dreams. We see young people who have “tasted’’ success on social media. This creates anxiety.

The more we see other people “doing well” the less patient we become. Why not me? When will it be me? We ponder.

PROACTIVE

Now are all millennials like this? Obviously not, but the fact is that the impatient ones end up living a life of “dreams” instead of reality.

They operate under the flawed belief that being somewhat digitally savvy, ambitious and young is “enough”.

Like going to the gym and staring at other people working out, ambition without action gets you nowhere.

It’s funny how some of us expect results, that ordinarily take years, to miraculously appear within hours, days, weeks or months.

I have even heard of people in their early 20s, who are just starting work, complaining that promotion is taking too long.

The truth is that many young people are enthusiastic about making it in life.

The internet has especially opened up a whole new world and one simply has to google to get answers to questions that would previously be answered my older people.

PATIENCE

Even though I can’t really remember my father telling me patience is a virtue, I for some reason have that saying stuck in my head since I was a young boy.

I believe this, alongside things like honesty and humility, is important.

The issue is that while some things in life have become easily accessible instantly, there are some great things that require time to come.

In fact, life just doesn’t run on a set schedule. So you might be wondering, why is patience important?

First, because great things take time. You should not rush through things. Taking time often makes things better and gives amazing results.

EXPERIENCE

There is no one-size-fits-all here, though, as some things can be achieved fast. Overall, however, ability to nurture should be second nature.

Things also get clearer with time. Nothing just happens in life; there’s always a reason.

Sometimes you are met with a challenge so that you can improve something about yourself.

If you avoid getting upset about an issue, and allow some time to pass, patience will give you a clear vision of why something happened when it did.

These are just my observations and reflections. I am sure each of us has principles that work for us and it will be good to share your thoughts.

Mr Matara, a former radio presenter, is a youth mentor.