Patience is the easiest thing to fake

Patience is the easiest thing to fake, mostly to yourself.

I test it with one question now. What date did I decide to wait until, and what would I need to see by then?

If I can answer that, I am being patient. If I cannot, I am avoiding a decision and using a respectable word for it.

The two look identical from the outside. They produce completely different outcomes.

Nobody corrects you either, because a person who is waiting and a person who is stuck both look calm.