People who lack promptness have been described as 'time benders'. Author Grace Pacie told the BBC that "they're the people who don't want to be late, but they have a strange resistance to being early, and they don't allow enough time." They assume their journey to an appointment will always go smoothly2, and the train will always be on time!
Perceptions of unpunctual people are almost always negative – even if sometimes wrong. Writing for the BBC, Laura Clarke says: Being consistently late might not be your fault. It could be your type. The punctually-challenged often share personality characteristics, such as optimism, low levels of self-control, anxiety, or a penchant3 for thrill-seeking, experts say. It is also possible people are late so not to be conspicuous4 and to avoid the anxious wait for others to turn up.
Maybe us latecomers should make more of an effort and follow the advice I heard to not 'try' to be on time but 'decide' to be on time. But I know if a meeting or a deadline really matters, then I'll be there. Otherwise relax, even if others are cursing you!
Author and journalist Helen Russell has been looking at the positive characteristics of a country's population to see what makes them happy and found Japan to be one of the most content. She told the BBC that this was due to their concept of wabi-sabi – "this traditional Japanese concept around celebrating imperfection… it's this idea that there is a beauty in ageing, it's to be celebrated7 rather than trying to disguise it." So, basically, we should be happy with who we are and rejoice in our faults and individuality. That's something to put a smile on our faces!
But if you're feeling down in the dumps because your home country doesn't have a happiness concept to follow, consider some self-help ideas that the BBC programme Hacking8 Happiness has been looking into. These include being virtuous9, finding something to be passionate10 about, enjoying the here and now and being altruistic11 – helping12 others.
However, our pursuit of happiness could make us miserable13 as we try to meet society’s expectations and goals, making us anxious and stressed. Also, having too little experience of negative emotions can make us less adept14 at facing new challenges.
