By Michael J Griffin<\/em><\/p>\nCatchy title \u2013 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\u2019s 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 \u201cpending\u201d response. June \u2013 pending, July \u2013 pending. On July 22nd my REP lapsed meaning, if I left Singapore, I would lose my PR of 20 years!<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For the months of July and August into early September this old boy had to be\u2026..patient!\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yes, this go-go entrepreneur who is known for his High D driven behavior, his can-do attitude, his proactive nature, who can\u2019t sit still, had to\u2026\u2026wait!<\/p>\n
The Singapore government was teaching me positive patience!<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
How patient are you? Let\u2019s review some aspects of impatience and patience.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201chealthy blood pressure\u201d while waiting for my REP renewal. Here are some quotes that helped. \u00a0Patiently read and reflect on them below:<\/p>\n
Aristotle<\/strong> \u2014 “Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
Benjamin Franklin<\/strong> \u2014 “He that can have patience can have what he will.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson<\/strong> \u2014 “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”
Edmund Burke<\/strong> \u2014 “Our patience will achieve more than our force.”
Joyce Meyer<\/strong> \u2014 “Patience is not simply the ability to wait \u2014 it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.”
Leo Tolstoy<\/strong> \u2014 “The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.”
Thomas \u00e0 Kempis<\/strong> \u2014 “All men praise patience, although few be willing to practice it.”
Bhagavad Gita<\/strong> \u2014 “Patience is the companion of wisdom.”<\/p>\nA Chinese Proverb <\/strong>
“One moment of patience may ward off great disaster; one moment of impatience may ruin a whole life.”<\/p>\nSolomon\u2019s Proverbs <\/strong>
\u201cA person who is patient shows great understanding, while someone quick-tempered displays foolishness.\u201d
\u201cA hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but a patient person calms things down.\u201d
\u201cBeing patient is better than being a warrior; controlling your temper is better than conquering a city.\u201d<\/p>\nAfrican Quotations <\/strong>
“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.”<\/p>\nLet\u2019s move to reflection and application for improving your patience. As you read these situations below, reflect on how you normally respond.<\/p>\n
Active Listening.<\/strong> 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?<\/p>\nCoaching.<\/strong> How patient are you when coaching a newbie on a sport, skill, or process? Get frustrated with their slowness, get too pushy?<\/p>\nSales.<\/strong> Are you patient to not \u201cproduct push\u201d 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.<\/p>\nTiming<\/strong>. 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\u2019s timing and decision making processes?<\/p>\nAssumptions and Judgements<\/strong>. Are you blinded by your assumptions or prejudices that lead you to wrong conclusions or judgements of people different than you?<\/p>\nFamily Members<\/strong>. Sometimes we are \u201csaints\u201d 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?<\/p>\nYourself.<\/strong> Do you give yourself downtime to rest and recharge? How about being patient with yourself and not too self-critical? What are your \u201ctriggers\u201d that set you off?<\/p>\nYour Emotional Intelligence<\/strong>. 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?<\/p>\nI 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 \u201cpatience governor\u201d please contact me below. I am patiently waiting to help you be more patient!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By Michael J Griffin Catchy title \u2013 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\u2019s approval for me to leave Singapore and return multiple times for the normal 5-year permit duration. This year I submitted my […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7059111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[117850],"tags":[117851,5714,4378,19356,10908,19272],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7059110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-elavate-leaders","tag-elavate","tag-global","tag-government","tag-patience","tag-singapore","tag-taught"],"yoast_head":"\n
How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Michael J Griffin Catchy title \u2013 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\u2019s approval for me to leave Singapore and return multiple times for the normal 5-year permit duration. This year I submitted my […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"667\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\"},\"wordCount\":1018,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"ELAvate\",\"Global\",\"Government\",\"Patience\",\"Singapore\",\"Taught\"],\"articleSection\":[\"ELAvate! Leaders\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\",\"name\":\"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg\",\"width\":667,\"height\":1000},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network","og_description":"By Michael J Griffin Catchy title \u2013 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\u2019s approval for me to leave Singapore and return multiple times for the normal 5-year permit duration. This year I submitted my […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00","og_image":[{"width":667,"height":1000,"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global","datePublished":"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110"},"wordCount":1018,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg","keywords":["ELAvate","Global","Government","Patience","Singapore","Taught"],"articleSection":["ELAvate! Leaders"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110","name":"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg","datePublished":"2026-09-15T21:32:49+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/3718.jpg","width":667,"height":1000},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7059110#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How the Singapore Government Taught Me Patience \u2014 ELAvate Global"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7059110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7059110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7059111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7059110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7059110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7059110"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7059110"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7059110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![](\"https:\/\/images.squarespace-cdn.com\/content\/v1\/5ffd6f883ff3ea0604bd4aea\/1789015844069-4QYXFYVMI3UZCZQ6M9XR\/3718.jpg?format=1500w\")
<\/p>\n