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Subtle Shift

 


In my formative years, I was shaped with the message of how others matter and were important by arriving 10-20 minutes early, depending on the situation. In my early adulthood, I continued showing up 10-20 minutes before the expected time. I never gave thought to the ‘why’ behind it. It was just automatic.

 

I moved to Peru, and I automatically was arriving 10-20 minutes earlier than the designated time. There was this transitional stress happening within me because of moving cross-culturally. Even though I learned the concept about cultural differences which time is one of them, I did not stop to acknowledge this difference and became more and more frustrated. Once I did acknowledge the difference of the value of time in Peruvian culture, I started making some subtle shifts.

 

Some subtle shifts were to arrive just on time or a little after the designated time. I learned to have a book or something to do to pass the time until the person was ready, or the meeting would start. These subtle shifts had an impact on my concept of time and my attitude. It expanded my view about how others matter and are important.

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