Prior to joining the military I was unfamiliar with the expression., “if you are not 15 minutes earlier you are late”, I was however very familiar with the expression, “better late than never”.
Is it really better to be late to something than never show up at all? I think the answer is always yes. Of course it is. Why is it better to be late than never? That is a better and more layered question.
Being late to a function brings judgement to others that were on time or early to the function. One thing that is almost always considered when judgement is past is intention of the party being accused, ie john wasn’t late for his appointment he simply didn’t show at all, he obviously doesn’t care about this appointment at all. When we arrive even if it is late we show that we did care and intended to make it to the appointment.
What effort is applied when we simply abandon a pursuit? No effort right? You quit when you do not show up at all versus showing up late. Quitting is not good. I know that there seems to be a movement now called “quiet quitting” and quitting seems to be in style but it is bad to quit. Rest is fine and often needed but if you are doing something good you should never ever quit.
Survival can be summed up in three words — never give up.
Bear Grylls
Change direction, but never give up. Rest but never give up. Regroup but never give up. When you simply do not attend something you have given up.
What happens now? I have been a basketball fan since my father put a hoop up in my driveway. Love watching playing and coaching basketball. Basketball is played in 4 quarters and many analyst of the sport say that the 1st and 4th period of a game have 80% of the action in them. of the 80% 60% is usually in the 4th period. If you simply miss a whole game you will miss 100% of the action if you are late you may still participate in 80% of the action. Sometimes the best part of an appointment happens later than the start.
Finally never doing something is not trying and trying is important for a person’s mental health. Trying something healthy is important for someone’s mental spiritual and often physical health.
So Is it better to be late than never? Absolutely it is but it is best to be on time, but if you are running late be sure to still arrive and arrive safely.
The Corrigan Encore 