There was a very catchy infomercial I heard while I was in the gym today. It was a phone conversation between a guy that was on his way to pick up a girl, but every time he hits the said time that he was supposed to have reached, he pushes back the time for various reasons, n when he finally got there, the girl just walked away. At the end of the infomercial, the pop line was, "say what u mean, mean what u say." I don't know about u, but those words are so well put, there's no better or easier way to express the same. Now, why would something so simple n actually quite "common sense" be on the radio, reminding people the importance of what they say? It tells u a lot about the values being forgotten here...
Nowadays, people are very busy (of course, whether it is for the right reasons, we won't go that far to judge, but it's worth thinking about). On saturday, u plan to meet george for lunch, catch a movie with jerry, go for afternoon tea with mary, then dinner with chris. it sounds like a great day ahead of u. Keep in mind, lunch is usually around noon, movies hv set playing schedules, afternoon tea is about 3-5pm n dinner is, well, normally around 6-8pm (I'm gonna be clear n state that the above approximate time is a generality but rather acceptable by the average person...or the average normal person anyways). So, we all hv our plans, n I'd like to think that everyone makes the most of their days, filling it with events.
Now, think about it this way. Say, ur running a little late because u had to drop off ur friend somewhere, so u give me a ring to tell me ur gonna be late for 15mins. To be fair, i gave u 20mins before calling u again to find out whereabouts u are. "I had to run to the grocery to pick up something real quick. I'll be there in 10mins."...10mins later (n it's only cos u were late that ur now stuck in the afternoon traffic), u say, "sorry! I'm stuck in traffic, but I'm almost there."...10mins later when u've finally arrived, u are officially 40mins late. Now, that's not really a big deal, but not only did u make me wait 40mins, u made me wait by myself for u to do something that was totally unrelated to our gathering. On top of that, we're now cutting close to dinner, n by the time u finish afternoon tea, u would be too full to have dinner with chris at the agreed time, so u might push back dinner n screw up chris' night plans. Not only did u mess up ur plans, u"ve messed up chris'. At this point, ur sounding like a irresponsible, inconsiderate, self-centered jerk. That would just about sums up exactly what u would be if u pulled such a move. Imagine if u were late for lunch! U'd have EVERYONE waiting on u. No need to remind u that ur NOT royalty- if u happen to be royalty n reading this, then this won't apply to u of course- n that u shouldn't make people wait. If u do, it would only seem that u view others' times can be wasted n not really of any importance). Now come to think of it...the above scenario happens quite often!
Getting right to the point: if u find urself often running late, then it's time to get a watch. If u hv a watch, then it's time to learn how to read one. If u paid attention in kindergarten n know how to read the time (good for u cos ur not THAT hopeless), then ur gonna hv to suck it up n put more effort in time management. Honestly, it's not rocket science n u definitely don't need a masters in math to do some simple time calculations. To avoid disappointment, u'd rather under-promise n over-achieve, so give enough buffer. Say ur aiming to get there at 6:30pm for dinner n ur worried u might be stuck in traffic. Tell the person u'll be arriving around 6:40pm, so if u do get there at ur aim-time, then not only are u on time, ur EARLY! (well, i'd always rather be the one waiting than being the one to make others wait just cos it's less pressure on me). If u were right n ur stuck in traffic, u'll at least hv 10mins to get urself out of it. i mean, it comes with experience, but u know what? it's impossible to know everything, n it's never too late to learn.
But so what if ur late? Its not like the end of the world, right? Of course not, silly goose. Except, now ur officially on my "most likely gonna be late kinda person" list AND this not being ur first time (don't try to deny it, but being fashionable late is a developed habit- universally-agreed bad habit as u don't recognize or are completely oblivously to the consequences of ur lateness), ur most likely gonna end up on my "undependable" list while ur at it. That's actually a really bad list to be on cos once ur deemed undependable to be a timely person, u've been unofficially declared "undependable" in general (just cos it's safer to assume u won't pull the weight of ur words than to trust u n be disappointed). Now what's on the line? Ur dependable reputation. Or should I say, "ex-dependable" reputation?
Let's broaden the topic of lateness to anything u can possibly "say". Be it something that u'll do, what u feel or think, etc...whatever fits the equation to something that can be said. It should have some meaning when u say it, shouldn't it? Or else, why would u say it if it has no meaning n waste everyone's time n energy listening to u? U know, u'll be like the boy who cried wolf, the more empty words u say, the less believeable u will be. Sooner or later, ur words will hv no force or effect on ur friends, family, coworkers, well actually, anyone. By then, u shouldn't even bother talking. Don't wait till then to realize the importance of saying what u mean n meaning what u say, cos it'll be too late. Trust is a million times harder to gain than lose. Don't test those words; it won't be worth it.
Treat ur words like gold, so u will only speak what is worthy of an audience.