King Louis XVIII is said to
have said, “Punctuality is the politeness of kings.” When you think about it,
the French monarch was making quite a statement about the importance of being
on time.
In Louis’ time, kings, and
royalty in general, were afforded many privileges, principal among them being
the choice of when—perhaps even if—to show up to an appointment. When Louis
XVIII referred to punctuality as the “politeness of kings,” he was really
saying that even a royal should show the basic respect of being punctual. So,
if being on time is good enough for a king, it’s probably a good idea for the
rest of us, too!
If you’ve been in the Dojo
for any amount of time, chances are you’ve heard an instructor say that it’s
better to be a half hour early than one minute late. Makes a lot of sense,
especially when you consider that being late is not the best way to demonstrate
your commitment to your Martial Arts training, your instructor, or yourself.
Punctuality is a sign of
respect. Being on time demonstrates to the person you’re meeting that you care
about them enough to value their time. Being punctual shows that you value the
time being given to you enough that you’ll not waste a minute of it by being
tardy. After all, time is the one thing we give and are given that can never be
returned. Time only flows one direction, and so it’s very important to be
mindful and respectful of another person’s time!
Have you ever thought about
what the world would be if NOBODY cared about being on time? You’d never be
able to get anything done! Class would never start on time; the bus would
always be late; flights would be entirely unpredictable. In short, a world run
with no sense of punctuality would be a very chaotic place in which to live!
There’s another, very
practical reason to be on time: all of us are only guaranteed a certain amount
of it. Marcel Proust once said, “It comes so soon, the moment when there is
nothing left to wait for.” Given our brief stay on planet Earth, it makes a lot
of sense to make the most of time. There is so much to learn and apprehend, we
really shouldn’t waste a moment being late to the lesson.
If you want to be a Black
Belt Champion, make it a habit to be punctual. And remember: “It’s better to be
a half hour early…than one minute late!”
