Dr LeCrone
03-30-2006, 09:22 AM
John seemed to be late for almost every appointment or scheduled event in his life. His family sometimes jokingly said John would be late for his own funeral. He always seemed genuinely sorry when he was tardy, apologizing profusely and promising to be on time in the future. John’s problem seemed worse during the week when he was at work.
Mary was the president of a small company and her tardiness surfaced only at meetings within her organization. She would appear 10 to 15 minutes after everyone else had gathered and offer no explanation or apology.
John and Mary are examples of people who have a problem being on time, but the reasons for their tardiness are different. Reasons vary:
• Some experts believe there is a biological predisposition for tardiness in some people. Such people tend to be distracted easily and have short attention spans. Labeled as attention deficit disorder in children, adults can have some of the same problems.
These people tend to forget commitments they have made. Although the cause is not clearly understood, it is felt to be biochemical in nature.
• Psychological reasons such as anxiety cause other people to be late often. In the example of John, his tardiness may have resulted from insecurity at work. Stress-related anxiety caused him to avoid meetings that often were confrontations with his boss and other employees.
His tardiness was perhaps a manifestation of his dislike for his work. It was an attempt for his mind to escape the reality of the situation. On weekends he seemed to have no problem remembering to be on time with his family, attend church or pick up a friend to go fishing.
• Another explanation for tardiness is that people sometimes use a late entrance to emphasize a point.
A social butterfly who wishes to attract attention may be the last to arrive at a party or a seated dinner. In her way she causes everyone to focus attention on her and the way she is dressed.
In the example of Mary, her motivation for being late might have been to emphasize her position of power to her employees. She showed them she could make them wait on her without offering any explanation.
• Lateness also may be caused by modeling. Parents who are chronically late for functions set an example for their children. Their children eventually develop an attitude that being on time is not important.
How often have we heard the phrase, he/she is just like his/her mother or dad. As parents, we need to be aware of setting a good example for our children.
Next week, I will continue this discussion of tardiness and explore ways to increase attention to time and the correction of attitudes toward time.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1987
Mary was the president of a small company and her tardiness surfaced only at meetings within her organization. She would appear 10 to 15 minutes after everyone else had gathered and offer no explanation or apology.
John and Mary are examples of people who have a problem being on time, but the reasons for their tardiness are different. Reasons vary:
• Some experts believe there is a biological predisposition for tardiness in some people. Such people tend to be distracted easily and have short attention spans. Labeled as attention deficit disorder in children, adults can have some of the same problems.
These people tend to forget commitments they have made. Although the cause is not clearly understood, it is felt to be biochemical in nature.
• Psychological reasons such as anxiety cause other people to be late often. In the example of John, his tardiness may have resulted from insecurity at work. Stress-related anxiety caused him to avoid meetings that often were confrontations with his boss and other employees.
His tardiness was perhaps a manifestation of his dislike for his work. It was an attempt for his mind to escape the reality of the situation. On weekends he seemed to have no problem remembering to be on time with his family, attend church or pick up a friend to go fishing.
• Another explanation for tardiness is that people sometimes use a late entrance to emphasize a point.
A social butterfly who wishes to attract attention may be the last to arrive at a party or a seated dinner. In her way she causes everyone to focus attention on her and the way she is dressed.
In the example of Mary, her motivation for being late might have been to emphasize her position of power to her employees. She showed them she could make them wait on her without offering any explanation.
• Lateness also may be caused by modeling. Parents who are chronically late for functions set an example for their children. Their children eventually develop an attitude that being on time is not important.
How often have we heard the phrase, he/she is just like his/her mother or dad. As parents, we need to be aware of setting a good example for our children.
Next week, I will continue this discussion of tardiness and explore ways to increase attention to time and the correction of attitudes toward time.
Harold H. LeCrone, Jr., Ph.D. Copyright 1987