“If you can’t be on time, then be early.”
—Robin S. Sharma
Proverbs are the ones that express truth concisely with the use of most suitable words. There are uncountable proverbs and we all have heard most of them. But what is required is to understand the meaningful message they contain. ‘The early bird catches the worm’ is a well-known saying that emphasises the significance of time in attaining your goals. Man who works hard to succeed is like a bird that keeps on searching for its prey. But only the bird that comes earlier than the others will pick out the worm and this means that one who values time and reaches earlier alone can thrive and prosper. Of all the resources at man’s disposal, the most precious is time. Time is nothing in itself but it is the only thing that gives value to everything. The first and foremost quality we should possess to reach our destiny is to be punctual. The early birds teach us the value of time through their daily routines. Time once lost can never be bought back at any cost and not even a single second can be retrieved or recreated. Man is a
mere speck of dust but if time is used precisely it will make us extraordinary. We must prepare our minds
and tell ourselves that we should be steadfast in reaching our aims.
Most of us don’t realise that we may not get another chance. It is often a habit of people to procrastinate and start working at the eleventh hour. We leave our duties pending and shift their completion to tomorrow. And that tomorrow never comes. A lot of risk and crisis can be avoided with punctuality. We must remember that a worm comes out of the ground early in the morning and the bird that begins its search early will get the worm. Similarly, chances come to us on time but we are almost always not ready to grab and use them. We lose a lot of them due to our laziness. Excessive tardiness eventually leads to your external and internal breakdown. It is also a sign of patchy priorities and selfishness that will never help one to procure anything in life. We must be like the birds, ready to work on time to satisfy ourselves. You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is there in your daily routine. Promptness communicates a lot about you and your integrity. It also yields you respect and makes you a winner. It brings in discipline and dynamism and gives a boost to one’s self esteem, resulting in better performance. If your today is organised, then you will be rewarded with a colourful tomorrow. A living example, the founder of India’s best ever learning app, “Byju’s”, Mr. Byju Raveendran, proved that efficient use of time results in better yields. He taught the world to be brave and to set no limit on the working of your imagination.
By the time most of the people figure out what they really want and how to go about attaining it, it is usually too late. We must be conscious of time as it is limited and cannot be extended through any means. Time consciousness is the habit we should develop in order to acquire whatever we dream of. Those who use time wisely are rewarded with rich, productive and satisfying lives. The early bird which reaches home with the best worms is an apt example for this concept. Those who have not been exposed to the principle of time consciousness will never realise their enormous human potential. We must stay focussed and determined to curb all difficulties to procure success. But what matters the most is to watch up on time and understand that it is always going on. It is always better to be the early bird than a night owl. Being late is similar to accepting defeat. Therefore, to accomplish our tasks, we must first have an eye on time and keep track of it forever.
The early bird, most importantly, gets a choice. He is more resistant to fatigue, frustration and difficulties. He also possesses low levels of anxiety and depression. Life satisfaction is another boon he gets due to his habit. This is what most people crave for. We do search here and there for happiness and satisfaction but end up getting nothing. The lessons the early birds teach are more philosophical and motivating. Not everyone gets a chance to choose from and if you wish to have it, you must be early to the spot. Even Shakespeare says, “It is better to be three hours early than a minute late.” What we earn from being late is just loss. Loss of opportunities, happy moments, and of course, victory. The early birds may never come across such losses and they are only rewarded with better choices. Hence we must imbibe their routines in our lives too.
The world runs on the wheels of time, be it the newspaper that comes to your doorstep, a television programme, or the fresh milk supply. Everything from early morning is done by a system in which individuals race against the ticking of the clock to finish their work. If they can, then why can’t you? We may find the busiest people having time to spare for all activities. This is because of better time management and punctuality. It is said that we are the trustees of our own time. Wasting it is actually similar to proving your non-confidence to use opportunities. The Father of Nation, Mahatma Gandhi was well known for his punctuality. Just before he was assassinated, he was upset for being ten minutes late to a prayer meeting. According to Gandhiji, “You may not waste a grain of rice, a scrap of paper and a minute of time.” Now we can interpret that most people who have turned into eminent personalities valued time and were conscious about its usage. Preparedness and punctuality are the two most important qualities of a
leader. It is basically a way in which you respect your commitments. Time will not stand with you but you do have the freedom to spend it and make sure that it is spent wisely like all the successful leaders out there had done.
The most meaningful things in our lives should never be sacrificed to those that are less meaningful. The early bird starts early to fill its own stomach and to get energised. He has realised that working for food is important than staying idle in the nest. But are we spending our time on things that are really necessary? We must focus on our real duties and unnecessary pleasures must not swallow up our time. Else we may have to regret for our bad decisions and hope for the day to come again, which surely, will never happen. If you wish to be successful, then you must change your attitude towards the usage of time. You must be ready to start early and that too, for doing meaningful duties. If you wholeheartedly focus on them, then you will be left with no time to waste on unimportant matters.
The quality of our work decreases as we do it in haste. But when you move on properly with the time, success will welcome you with warmth. We should have the fire to not to wait for others to come and snatch the chances. We must fly like a bird and reach the skies early. The birds awake long before they need to. They never seem to be in a rush because they don’t need to, as they get plenty of time by waking up early. Being an early bird improves your efficiency and quality of life. It instills discipline in our lives and reduces stress. It helps you to capitalise on tremendous opportunities that are strictly reserved for the early birds. To get the best, and not to miss the steps to success, we must transform ourselves into an early bird. There may be many birds vying with each other to catch a single worm, but the bird that arrives earlier can easily defeat the rest and has the best chance to catch the worm. To make the best out of limited chances, one must be ahead of others, especially in terms of preparation. He or she must plan well in advance and grab the chance before it is already taken. Only then success can be achieved.
Both winners and losers are given the same amount of time. Time is what we get without any kind of discrimination. What matters is the way one uses the available time. Each of us is a small chirping bird, full of energy and vitality whereas success is the little worm hiding in the ground. It is we who must leave our surroundings of comfort and pick out the one we dreamed of, the one to satisfy our lives. Now let’s start to say hello to early mornings, filled with vibrancy and positivity to reach our destiny on time. Remember, what is meant for you will reach you in time and it is you who should be there on time.