Is patience the virtue nobody has time for anymore?

Amazon has attracted hundreds of millions of customers because they offer insanely fast shipping.

Products arrive in one or two days, or even on the same day, depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

This is truly extraordinary from an innovation standpoint. No wonder the brand became the first trillion dollar company.

Ask any new dog owner if they’ve ever ordered something for their yelping puppy that was delivered to their door within twelve hours and saved them from another sleepless night. Even the bible didn’t have miracles that good.

No offense to our lord and savior, but turning water into wine pales in comparison to overnight shipping.

What’s interesting to me is when the company beats its chest around the positive environmental impact of their tech. Amazon brags how shipping services cut delivery times, lower carbon emissions, reduce traffic by eliminating trips to the store and create jobs for contracted drivers.

All of which are commendable achievements for the environment.

But in the words of the great comedian, the planet it fine, the people are screwed.

Let’s talk about the real downstream impact of overnight shipping, the elimination of human patience.

Every day, people are overwhelmed by thousands of offers and messages that arouse, stimulate and suggest that quick returns and instant gratification are the answers to all of our problems. Patience seems to be the virtue nobody has time for anymore.

And this is not healthy for our species. Technology has sped up the pace of everything, for better and for worse. Every product is instantaneous, every choice is a snap decision, and every company is competing for our time and attention.

When my niece had her second birthday party, and we all watched her swipe their finger across a television and shriek in frustration. It was hilarious and haunting.

Because on one hand, the benefits we’ve gained from these innovations are amazing. Technology shrinks cycles into months or weeks that would have taken years or even decades to play out in the past.

Hell, during the pandemic, I launched a new business for a few thousand bucks in only a few months. That ease and speed of my execution would have been unheard of twenty or even ten years ago. My new software product was so easy to launch, I’m embarrassed for how much time and money I used to spend on various projects.

What the hell was I thinking blowing tens of thousands of dollars on some stupid website?

But alas, prosecuting myself for crimes past isn’t healthy either.

Point is, patience is and will always an important and useful human quality. People who are able to bear immediate pain to avoid longer term agony, will be more successful in their careers. People who can experience happiness in the absence of quick returns and instant gratification, will be more fulfilled in their lives.

And people who are skilled at staying the course despite immediate returns and still enjoying the process, will have less stress in their bodies.

Patience is by no means glamorous. It won’t earn us social currency in our peer group. Nobody is making television shows about characters who think long term and choose not to satisfy their momentary desires.

And the world will not congratulate us on waiting longer than everybody else.

But what’s the rush? How fast do we really need everything?

Amazon, back to our original story here, does also offers digital rewards to people who don’t need everything urgently. Their no rush delivery option now gives customers promotional credit on their orders if they’re willing to wait a few extra days.

This helps them prioritize their fastest deliveries for customers with urgent needs.

Patience appears to be a virtue that at least some people have time for anymore.

Or maybe they just want the free money.

If most people run out of patience before success actually arrives, how could you outlast them?