Being Early

"The early bird catches the worm." --William Camden

I have a confession to make: I have a really hard time making it to places on time. Okay, so people who know me already knew that. But, honestly, one of my top New Year's Resolutions for many, many years has been: "to be on time." And, since it has been a resolution for many, many years, that means I have yet to be successful at it. This year, I'm trying a little different tactic.


Rather than being on time, my goal is to be early. This is a real challenge for me because the reason that I'm usually late is because I have this habitual mindset of just getting one more thing done before I leave the house or trying to squeeze one more errand in before I have to be at my final destination.

I am working really hard to change this mindset by reminding myself there will always be time later to do the other things and asking myself how much do the other things matter right at this moment?

I've also tried to add up the blessings that come with being early:

• I have time to find my bearings, in case I get lost
• I have time to listen to a favorite story on NPR
• I now always have reading or writing materials with me so I can sneak in a few minutes of this if I am early
• If it's possible to start my engagement earlier, that usually means it will end earlier and I'll have extra time on the flip side for those other important things I might have put to the side to get there early
• I can call a friend and catch up for a few minutes

What are your blessings in being early?