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Does this describe you? No matter how hard you try, you perpetually show up late to meetings, appointments, and events. You set alarms, prep clothes or work materials the night before, and give yourself extra buffer time.
Yet still, you scramble walking in the door 10 minutes past when you should have arrived.
If so, being chronically late likely stems from an unexpected root issue — your relationship with yourself, not poor time management. Understanding this surprising source of lateness is key to finally fixing it for good.
Why We’re Really Late
On the surface, lateness seems like a time optimization problem. Surely if you were more organized, had better strategies for managing a schedule, and built in bigger buffers into your day, you wouldn’t run behind, right?
But decades of psychological research reveals a deeper driver — being late often stems from underlying self-worth struggles. It represents a way to unconsciously defend the ego when you don’t feel respected or valued for your full humanity.
See, when self-esteem takes a hit, the mind looks for ways to subtly retaliate or reclaim power in situations. Being late allows you to silently signal “my time and needs…
