I AM ON TIME FOR MYSELF
I AM ON TIME FOR MYSELF I Reach 15 Minutes Early Not Because Everyone Else Will Be There, but Because My Discipline Should Never Depend on Someone Else’s Punctuality. “Sorry, we’ll be starting shortly. We’re just waiting for a few others to join.” Dr. Abhishek Gilara had heard versions of this sentence many times. But one morning, it became a philosophy. He reached an outstation event at 9:20 AM for a programme scheduled to begin at 9:30 AM. By around 10:00 AM, hardly anyone had arrived. Sitting with an embarrassed organiser in an almost empty venue, a simple question emerged: If I already know everyone else may be late, why do I still arrive early? The answer was even simpler: Because I am not on time for them. I am on time for myself. Through the wonderfully ordinary analogy of brushing one’s own teeth, this book asks a much larger question: If a habit is good for you, should you abandon it merely because everybody around you behaves differently? If 99.99% of people stop brushing their teeth, does not brushing suddenly become healthy? If everybody arrives late, does lateness become punctuality? If everyone neglects fitness, does neglect become good for your body? If everyone lowers their standards, should you lower yours? No. In I AM ON TIME FOR MYSELF, Dr. Abhishek Gilara explores punctuality not merely as time management, but as a window into self-discipline, identity, leadership, habits, fitness, work, learning and self-governance. The message is simple: Never allow the majority to vote on your personal discipline. Learn from people who are better than you. Change when you discover a better way. Remain humble enough to question yourself. But once you know that a habit is genuinely making you better, don’t abandon it simply to resemble everyone else. The auditorium may be empty. The meeting may start late. Others may arrive whenever they choose. You still have one person whose standard is your responsibility—yourself. **Let others arrive according to their habits. You arrive according to yours.** **The event may start late. Your discipline doesn’t have to.** I AM ON TIME FOR MYSELF.
