# Irritated by people not giving activities their full attention **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 7, 2014, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142 "2014-03-07T20:08:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142/41 "2014-03-10T14:29:36Z")
I’ve been thinking bout the dearth of patience in current society so I’m glad to see **mage-girl** mention it. It’s a worthwhile characteristic to develop not just for our own peace of mind but also to prevent conflict with others. We are born wanting things our way right now so patience has to be cultivated by learning it from other people who try our patience. I learned mine from my children. 🙂 It’s not exactly as though our time is being wasted by someone else when things aren’t moving as fast as we want them to. It’s more that we aren’t equipped with creative ways to make constructive use of that time while still honoring the presence of the other person. ---
**Author:** ![HipGnosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/76d3ee/32.png) [@HipGnosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HipGnosis)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142/42 "2014-03-10T16:09:11Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > Playing successfully requires that players treat the game _as if it mattered_, even though it doesn’t. If one of the players acts like the game is a waste of time not worth their attention, it spoils the experience for everyone else. Taking the game seriously is actually an essential element of play. To a point, and that point should be mutually agreed upon. I don’t like to play with people that take the game to serious. I played cards once with someone that didn’t allow any socializing - he was sure it was only a cover for ‘code words’ for cheating. I had a similar experience with someone else playing dominoes. I play (mostly played) for the social aspect as much if not more than the game. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142/43 "2014-03-10T22:38:23Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > I’ve been thinking bout the dearth of patience in current society so I’m glad to see **mage-girl** mention it. It’s a worthwhile characteristic to develop not just for our own peace of mind but also to prevent conflict with others. Don’t you think the people who can’t wait five minutes for their turn are being impatient? ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142/44 "2014-03-11T04:24:55Z")
> [@j666](#): > > Don’t you think the people who can’t wait five minutes for their turn are being impatient? Yes. What am I missing? ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2014, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142/45 "2014-03-11T09:17:39Z")
> [@Tethered\_Kite](#): > > Yes. What am I missing? I thought you meant the people were being impatient with them - my misunderstanding [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/irritated-by-people-not-giving-activities-their-full-attention/683142.md?page=2)