I've always had a patient demeanor BUT I have definitely had to learn more patience in this R and force myself to try to see things from his perspective as well, which fortunately for me objectivity tends to be something I'm pretty good at (most of the time)...and it really helps.
I find the empathy that comes with trying to understand his side of things and understand how he views me really helps in the patience department....BUT, I think the key for me was when I finally realized that recognizing his small efforts and validating him for those efforts paid off.
No, it didn't pay off big, but we all have to start somewhere right? It's unrealistic for me to think that just because he understands now that I have needs to be fulfilled that he's going to jump in with both feet and start doing everything I need the way I need it now...that's just not going to happen.
He's going to have to start small and build up and that's going to take time. That's where validating his small efforts will build into real improvement...each small effort that is backed by my appreciation and validation will build into a larger effort, etc.
