| It's
About Time
"What we love to do we find time to do." -
John L. Spalding
Has anything like this ever happened to you?
--Jeff's
phone appointment was scheduled for Thursday
at 5pm, rescheduled to Friday at 10am,
Friday at 4pm, then Monday at 10am - for sure. Monday 10am arrived without a jingle. Jeff called and left a voice message at 10:12 wondering if he had written the time down incorrectly. It could happen. At 10:30 he sent an email explaining that he would no longer be available after 11. At 12:19pm Jeff received a message saying, "Sorry. Sick. Will call when back at work." That
was three weeks ago, still no word.
--Monday
afternoon Cathy sent an email to confirm
a full-day consultation for Wednesday.
She confirmed with her vendors, since she
had no reason to believe the plans had
changed. At 10:25pm Tuesday night, Cathy received an email saying, "Sorry. Can't do tomorrow. Will call as soon as possible." That
was one week ago, still no word.
--On Tuesday, James scheduled a phone consultation for Friday at 11:30am. At 11:30 he called, received the recorded greeting, and left a message about the scheduled appointment. Having heard nothing in return, at 12:30pm he left a second message with his apologies for being unavailable the rest of the day. On Monday, having still heard nothing in return, James left another message expressing his genuine concern. It's now Saturday, still no word.
These
are the "Time Thieves". They have severely damaged their own images by disrespecting others, stealing their time, and, thereby, their money. They have, understandably, lost the trust of others, along with unknown opportunities
for the future.
On
the other hand, the "Truly Accidental Time Thief" who
has made even the smallest effort to show
genuine regret for the situation, is usually
welcomed back for a second, possibly, a
third chance.
In
my classes I teach about the different images of time. Some cultures view time as a line...first this happens, then that, then the other and on and on. In other cultures, time is a cloudy mass of many things happening in tandem with no necessary relationship one to the other. However, in all cases, time is a well-respected luxury with a value like nothing else we know. Every human being can be heard at least once in a life wishing for more
time. And, clearly, once time has passed,
it will not return again.
Yes,
life happens to all of us. And, it serves
us well to be understanding and empathetic when it happens to others. Surely, the day will come when it will happen to us. Imagine that a date or time was recorded incorrectly in your calendar; Jimmy fell off the swings and needed stitches in his head; or, the toilet overflowed. The "what" doesn't
matter.
It's
the "how" that matters. There are emergencies and unexpected situations that force changes beyond our control everyday. It is not in the moment of the change that we sully the images and reputations we worked so hard to build. It is in that uncomfortable moment, that we must force ourselves to regroup
and reach out with grace and style. If our
image matters, we will make time to recover
well and move ahead with honor and respect
for others. Ultimately, we will gain or regain
the respect of others and a mutual respect
for time. |
