Skip to Content

830. Obedience vs. Punctuality

Punctuality is a value; obedience is a behaviour. There are schools that teach a behaviour as a value and others that teach a value as a behaviour. Boys consistently securing first class or A+ from famous schools of discipline entering professional courses, fail consistently from the first year. It means they were coached for the exams, and were not taught the subjects. Suppose a child is to be taught punctuality as a value, a value that will be with him forever, what should one do? A value is one which the boy values for itself. For that, he must see the value of punctuality, value it for its own sake, be proud to follow it and happy to possess it. Is it possible to teach him this in a lifetime? Children do what the parents do, not what the parents ask. The parent must be punctual in practice.

Organise a day of punctuality at home or at school. The boy will discover that three day's work is done in one day. The first gain will be the work will become smooth. There will be total absence of tension. He will see there is less noise. Orderliness, when it is not attempted, will emerge in some measure unasked. Complaints will be minimal or disappear. Some voices will be heard, "How nice life will be if every day is like this." One can see the members will have an involuntary smile. Life will be excessively pleasant. I wish some organisation ORGANISES a week of comprehensive punctuality in some department or company and measures that performance. The improvement will be visible. Why? Punctuality is an organisation of Time. Time goes with space. Punctuality saves time. Time is energy. Time is money. Time saved is space shrunk. Therefore, efficiency rises. To do more with less is efficiency. Efficiency is effective on the personality. It generates self-confidence, which means everything.

One can feel that his family or office will not cooperate. It is true in India abundantly. But one need not wait for others. He can start practising punctuality and follow it meticulously uncomplaining about others or other circumstances. Persevering for some time, he will see he feels better for the effort. Inwardly there will be a sense of achievement. Not to be determined by the outer circumstances but being able to determine them from inside is a measure of psychological efficiency, which is far superior to social effectiveness. Obedience is best learnt as a value, not as a behaviour. Obedience qualifies a man for leadership, if learnt as a value. When learnt as a behaviour, he will be a successful employee. Obedience is great; punctuality is valuable. What matters is acquiring them as inner values of one's personality.

 



story | by Dr. Radut