How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience
By Michael J Griffin
Catchy title – eh? Let me explain. For 20 years I have had my Singapore Permanent Residency/REP renewed 4 times within 3-5 days of application. The REP is the government’s approval for me to leave Singapore and return multiple times for the normal 5-year permit duration. This year I submitted my renewal on April 23rd in plenty of time before my REP lapsed on July 22nd. After submission for my new REP, I expected a quick turnaround time. Lo and behold in May, I got a “pending” response. June – pending, July – pending. On July 22nd my REP lapsed meaning, if I left Singapore, I would lose my PR of 20 years!
I turned to AI to do research on why my PR/REP was been held up and got some very interesting reasons for the delay: as I am past retirement, the immigration authorities most likely pulled my application for a manual audit. This means they would be checking on my various compliance and contributions in Singapore, like paying tax, paying CPF pension, still working, my economic contributions to society, and my local family ties.
For the months of July and August into early September this old boy had to be…..patient!
Yes, this go-go entrepreneur who is known for his High D driven behavior, his can-do attitude, his proactive nature, who can’t sit still, had to……wait!
The Singapore government was teaching me positive patience!
The first impact was loss of significant training revenue as I was scheduled to conduct training in Malaysia and Indonesia. The positive impact was I was able have more time helping to raise my grand-daughter, reading & researching more, and spending more time on my bicycle getting fit. The biggest payoff was I learned to be positively patient: no groaning, no poor me. And of course, my patience paid off as PR/REP was granted for another 5 years on Sept 5th, 2026.
How patient are you? Let’s review some aspects of impatience and patience.
When one is impatient, the results can be disastrous. The extrovert might explode in anger, respond before listening, give very verbal criticism, move without proper planning, ruin relationships, and take on too much by refusing to delegate. The introvert, shows impatience by possibly remaining quiet, being passive aggressive, agreeing quickly just to end an interaction ("Sure, sure, whatever works") even if they don't mean it, or preferring to leave a situation quietly (stepping out, going silent) over confronting a delay head-on. Both might resort to complaining, grumbling or blaming. Doing any of these actions would no have helped me get my PR/REP.
Waiting for my PR/REP taught me that patience with persistence and positive thinking was the perfect antidote for me to become a better leader with a “healthy blood pressure” while waiting for my REP renewal. Here are some quotes that helped. Patiently read and reflect on them below:
Aristotle — "Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet."
Benjamin Franklin — "He that can have patience can have what he will."
Ralph Waldo Emerson — "Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience."
Edmund Burke — "Our patience will achieve more than our force."
Joyce Meyer — "Patience is not simply the ability to wait — it's how we behave while we're waiting."
Leo Tolstoy — "The two most powerful warriors are patience and time."
Thomas à Kempis — "All men praise patience, although few be willing to practice it."
Bhagavad Gita — "Patience is the companion of wisdom."
A Chinese Proverb
"One moment of patience may ward off great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole life."
Solomon’s Proverbs
“A person who is patient shows great understanding, while someone quick-tempered displays foolishness.”
“A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but a patient person calms things down.”
“Being patient is better than being a warrior; controlling your temper is better than conquering a city.”
African Quotations
"Patience can cook a stone." a proverb found across several West African traditions, emphasizing that patience can achieve what seems impossible.
"He who is patient sees the back of a tiger, but he who is hasty gets bitten."
Let’s move to reflection and application for improving your patience. As you read these situations below, reflect on how you normally respond.
Active Listening. Do you fully listen, leaving your HP off? Are you listening to understand or to formulate your rebuttal? How often to you cut the speaker off?
Coaching. How patient are you when coaching a newbie on a sport, skill, or process? Get frustrated with their slowness, get too pushy?
Sales. Are you patient to not “product push” but slowdown to ask curious questions to show your concern for customer problems and emotions before providing solutions? Salespeople with high patience and EQ are more successful and make more money than average salespeople.
Timing. How patient are you to wait for the right time to sell, persuade or possibly deliver negative information? How well do you align with customer’s timing and decision making processes?
Assumptions and Judgements. Are you blinded by your assumptions or prejudices that lead you to wrong conclusions or judgements of people different than you?
Family Members. Sometimes we are “saints” in the marketplace but very impatient at home with family members. Are you patient with your kids and able to listen to your spouse without jumping?
Yourself. Do you give yourself downtime to rest and recharge? How about being patient with yourself and not too self-critical? What are your “triggers” that set you off?
Your Emotional Intelligence. I believe the more mature your emotional intelligence is, the more patient you become. Have you ever done an EQ assessment of yourself to see how you govern your emotions or read social situations to be more patient or collaborative?
I entrust this review and reflection will alert you to areas where and when you need to be more patient. If you wish to assess your EQ as your “patience governor” please contact me below. I am patiently waiting to help you be more patient!
Michael J Griffin
CEO and Founder of ELAvate
TTISI EQ & DISC Assessor
Maxwell Leadership Coach
michael.griffin@elavateglobal.com
+65-91194008