Always Late? Here is How to Overcome Chronic Lateness Once and For All
by www.Sedona.com
Have your friends and loved ones started to tell you to arrive 30 minutes before everyone else to get-togethers, assuming that then maybe you’ll arrive on time? Or are you constantly rushing around at a frantic pace, only to find that you’re still 15-20 minutes late for just about everything?
Well, those of you who are always late already know who you are. But you may not know what’s behind your chronic lateness.
“There are several possible reasons why you may always be late,” says Hale Dwoskin, CEO and director of training of Sedona Training Associates. “They range from being absentminded to feeling that people should wait for you if they really care for you. There also can be a general sense of resistance to making commitments and being on time.”
Perhaps you feel a sense of embarrassment when you arrive late to important meetings. Or perhaps you feel a sense of entitlement to do so. Either way, you can rest assured that the people who have been waiting for you -- especially those who must do it on a regular basis -- are getting frustrated, irritated and possibly infuriated by your lateness.
So before you lose your job, or your close relationships, because you are punctuality-challenged, here are the tips you need to start being on time -- and maybe even a few minutes early.
1. Recognize that you have a problem. If you are still in denial, or think it’s no big deal that you’re “a few minutes” late, then you won’t be able to move forward. Acceptance is the first step.
2. Figure out WHY you’re always late. Is it that you forget about your commitments? Secretly dread going to work? Are just procrastinating? Or do you underestimate the amount of time it takes you to get ready? Whatever the reason, pinpointing it can help you make changes to solve the underlying problem.
3. Let go of the underlying reasons you’re late. “When you allow yourself to acknowledge that this has become a problem for you and those you care about, you can choose to let go of the underlying motivating feelings that are causing this behavior,” Dwoskin says. “Once the inner motivators are released the tendency to be late can drop away with ease.”
Not sure how to let go? The Sedona Method will guide you into the inherent experience of letting go. You will naturally release any bad habits and negative emotions -- such as subconscious rebelliousness, procrastination or anxiety -- that may be causing you to be chronically late.
4. Decide to be on time. Now that you’ve released your inner motivations to be late, make your mind up to be on time. Then do whatever it takes to make sure it happens: get up earlier, tell your neighbor you don’t have time to talk, leave extra time in your schedule in case you get lost, and so on.
5. Always give yourself “margins.” Life is full of surprises. Margins are there to help you stay on track, even when something unexpected -- like a flat tire, a dirty diaper, or an extra-long meeting -- pops up. If you’ve left yourself appropriate margins, you’ll still be able to keep to your schedule.
6. Make being late unpleasant. Your being late is unpleasant for the people who are waiting for you, but if you make it unpleasant for yourself as well, you may try harder to be on time. For instance, if you arrive late to work, stay an hour later at the end of the day. Or if you’re late to your mom’s Sunday dinner, clean up all the dishes yourself to make up for it. Ultimately, you’ll realize that being punctual lends a sense of calm to your life that is entirely its own reward.
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