Just last night I was trying to explain this idea to my beloved teenager. Quick to anger, quicker to make assumptions, he was being cooked in his own stew of confusion. I offered my own experience that patience was a virtue, but BEING patient was a skill. Then this morning I find far more elegant and usable guidance from the beloved Pema Chodron.
THE COURAGE TO WAIT When you’re like a keg of dynamite about to go off, patience means just slowing down at that point—just pausing—instead of immediately acting on your usual, habitual response. You refrain from acting, you stop talking to yourself, and then you connect with the soft spot. But at the same time you are completely and totally honest with yourself about what you are feeling. You’re not suppressing anything; patience has nothing to do with suppression. In fact, it has everything to do with a gentle, honest relationship with yourself. Pema Chodron
Cynthia Wall 
You always have such great timing. Many thanks,
Love you,
Martha