Think of the name of the person that comes to mind first when you think of someone who is never on time? Maybe it’s a family member, best friend, coworker, or maybe it’s even you.
While there are negative repercussions that come from being late, here’s some good news for those of you that consistently find yourselves treating “5 minutes late” as though it is right on time.
It’s actually ok to be late once in awhile. Often times, there are positive traits associated with personality types that are chronically late. And these traits are usually great enough to overshadow perpetual tardiness.
For example, some people who are late have that special ability or inability to feel stress, which can carry its own weight when it comes to your health. Also, if you look at the bigger picture analytically you’ll understand and appreciate that in the end, less stress ultimately means a longer lifespan and a better, healthier state of mind.
Being late is associated with optimism
“Never be late again” – a book by Diana DeLonzor states: “Many late people tend to be both optimistic and unrealistic and this affects their perception of time. They really believe they can go for a run, pick up their clothes at the dry cleaners, buy groceries and drop off the kids at school in an hour.”
People who are late are more enthusiastic
It turns out that these people look forward to things much more than regular people. Of course, their aforementioned false optimism also leads to their enthusiasm being plagued with weaknesses such as being scattered, undisciplined and poor time management.
However, the positive tends to outweigh the negative as they’re more extroverted, tend to live in the moment, and are more hopeful.
Being positive will most likely make you successful
Results of a study done on salesmen by Metropolitan Life revealed that consultants who scored in the top 10 percent on the optimism scale sold 88% more than the last 10% on the optimism scale.
People who are always late feel time passing in a different way
Jeff Conte, an associate psychology professor at San Diego State University, performed a study on Type A (competitive and impatient) and Type B (creative and relaxed) personality types.
After just one minute, both groups were asked to guess how much time had passed. Those in the Type A group, responded with 58 seconds, while those in the Type B group responded with an average of 77 seconds. They literally found time to be longer than it actually is.
“So if you have an 18-second gap… That difference can add up over time” – the Wall Street Journal reported as Conte told Sumathi Reddy.
People who multitask often see time passing more slowly
In a study conducted on 181 New York City subway operators, it was revealed that those who identified as being multi-taskers had a tendency to be late more often their one-track mind counterparts.
This is because the multitaskers had a tendency to lose track of time as a result of being completely unaware of their surroundings. They have the BIG picture in mind, not just the minutia of what they’re doing at the moment.
They tend to live in the moment
Participants from Group B in the aforementioned study understand that the end goal is the journey itself. They don’t spend a lot of time stressing their next move. Or fretting if details aren’t perfect. For them, the here and now is what matters most.
Money management is also an issue
People who are late tend to live in the moment thus making it harder for them to put money aside, says Alfie Kohn on Psychology Today.
Insubordinate or an adrenaline junky?
Are you of the mindset that rules are meant to be broken just as easily as they were made? This may be a sign that you are a creative thinker. Imagine how monotonous life would be if you followed every rule. You would be like every other person out there, and the thought of that terrifies you.
“Never Be Late Again,” author Diana Delonzor thinks that you can be either of 2 things:
- A “Deadliner” – someone addicted to the rush of making it in time
- A “Producer” – someone who feels accomplished for doing more stuff in less time, whilst breaking every rule in the process.
Listen to the doctors
Cardiologists from the International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology suggest those who belong to Group A in the study mentioned above have a greater chance of contracting a coronary disease. This is likely due to experiencing higher stress levels.
The takeaway? Those who worry about timeless will stress less, gaining all the benefits of “avoiding” a stressful life.
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Source: nikolateslafans.com
