‘ No one is so powerful that he can stop the march of time’ – this is what the phrase ‘ time and tide wait for none’ means. Although the origin of this phrase is not sure, yet it is obvious that it has ancient origins and predates modern English. The mere mention of the ‘ tide’ being beyond man’s control brings to mind images of King Canute’s story. He showed the limitations of a King’s powers by failing to make the sea obey his orders. The word ‘ tide’ in this phrase originally didn’t imply what the present meaning is – ‘ the rising and falling of the sea’. It denoted ‘ a period of time’. At the time when this phrase was coined the word ‘ tide’ meant a season or a time or a while.
This phrase is also sometimes mentioned as ‘ time and tide wait for no man’. Nevertheless, it signifies the importance of time. In literature time has often been referred to as “ Once upon a time…” and then as the story progresses we discover how time passes, how it comes to a standstill, how it flies sometimes and how the character develops as time goes by. Time was a great teacher for King Lear in Shakespeare’s play ‘ King Lear’. His character undergoes a sea-change with passage to time. His tow elder daughters failed the test of time. It was the youngest one, the reticent Cordelia, who faced the stormy times and came out a winner in being united with her father. But then time was a cruel teacher. Both Lear and Cordelia had to pay the price of their lives. Time had not waited for them. How time flies!’ they say. Rightly has Ben Hecht said, “ Time is a circus always packing up and moving away.”
Time is to be treated as a precious commodity. It’s as important as life itself. What is life? Is it a mere breathing exercise? How do we define time? We often refer to the term ‘ lifetime’. What makes a life is not the whole life at one go. Rather it consists of moments stitched together. We should live life in parts, so to say. Live a whole lifetime in a whole day. Live as if there’s no tomorrow. This doesn’t mean being rash. But start enjoying your life, you never will be able to when times change. You never can judge what time has in store for you. Being alive and living is a totally different thing. If you go to accumulating wealth hoping that you’ll indulge yourself, do something for your family and enjoy life one day, you are grossly mistaken. When a man dies he will never wish he would have spent some more time in the office. As we say, ‘ opportunity is here’, similarly, ‘ time is here and now’. Time should never be wasted. “ I wasted time and now doth time waste me”, says Shakespeare in ‘ Richard II’ (Act V, scene v).
German Nobel Prize Winner, Thomas Mann in his novel ‘ The Magic Mountain’ writes: “ What is time? It is a secret – lacking in substance and yet almighty.” The concept of time has been treated differently in different periods of time. In ancient Greece time was treated as a circle. Hesoid, the Greek historian of 8th century B. C. divided time into five ages of mankind, beginning with the golden age of the distant past when men lived in peace and continuing upto the contemporary Iron Age where fights and warfare prevail. But in medieval and modern times time has been treated as a linear process. Saint Augustine in his ‘ City of God’ favoured the linear concept of time and labelled the Greek cyclic time as a mere superstition.
Time has been mentioned in literature in different ways. Even the mythical and cyclic depiction of time had influenced many writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez (‘ One Hundred Years of Solitude’), Octavio Paz (his poem ‘ Piedra de sol’). Even T. S. Eliot in his poem ‘ Geronation’ gave to us the negative document on human life just as Paz. According to the linear concept time is an irreversible process; in Christianity from Creation to Judgment Day. An illustration of this in literature can be seen in Dante’s ‘ Divine Comedy’. William Faulkner, the winner of Nobel Prize Winner in literature in 1949, in his celebrated novel ‘ The Sound and the Fury’ – gives in detail the downfall of a wealthy and prosperous family in the southern United States.
We have examples of famous personalities who dreamt big but had to accept defeat in front of time. The most brilliant example is that of Alexander the Great. At his death he wished to show to the people that he was going empty-handed. This was the realization of a lifetime but it dawned upon him when he was on his death-bed. Time didn’t wait for him either. Hitler had dreamed of ruling over the whole world, but his progress was checked very soon and had to commit suicide in the end. These are all examples of human failure in front of the divine power of time. We have to move ahead with the time to conquer it. Generally what we do is that we move where life takes us. Thus, we allow to be driven by time, and to dominate us. If we stand still we will reach nowhere and time won’t stop for us, to take us along. Austin Dobson writes:
Time goes, you say? Ah no!
Alas, Time stays, we go.
Indeed, ‘ men may come and men may go’ but time stays on just like ‘ the brook’. But, again just as water is never the same in a flowing river, time too never repeats itself. Time once past cannot be recalled. How beautifully Omar Khayam puts it:
The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.
No matter how many pains you take, you cannot use the ‘ undo’ command in life and edit again.
Another quality of time is its uniformity and impartial nature. It works at the same pace for the wealthiest and for the poorest one. An hour means sixty minutes both for a king and a pauper. All are slaves of time. What we can do is make the most of the time at hand, as the old proverb goes ‘ make hay while the sun shines’.
We can broadly divide time into three categories – past, present and future. But actually it is indivisible. It’s a wonder how soon a past is created. You wink and eye and the moment is past. You will never find back the time wasted by you, there will only be tales of past. Future too is not revealed to us. We never know what is going to happen. ‘ There’s many a slip between the cup and the lip’. So we should live in the present. It is only in the present that the essence of life is contained. We cannot depend on either the past or future which is not in front of us. Live life as it unfolds itself before us, that is, in the form of present.
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, — act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
(H. W. Longfellow in ‘ A Psalm of Life’)
Time doesn’t give you chances. There are no retakes in real life. Time teaches you with experience but it has been called the cruelest teacher. Why? Because it never waits and you can’t change your actions later. So much destruction has been caused in the world. The two World Wars have been there. Atom bombs have been dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It seemed as if the country of Japan would be destroyed, its economy would never be able to recover. But time didn’t come to a standstill. Japan is one of the leading nations of the world. This is because the Japanese didn’t wait for the time, rather they acted. People lose their loved ones. Their lives are shattered by the death. Life doesn’t seem to be moving ahead. But things change because time doesn’t wait for the mourner to get back to life again. Time is a great healer too. It goes on and on, just like a stream. Indeed, time is the stream of life. Just like the bubbles some people fade away, some new ones take their place and the process goes on. Life goes on.
‘ There is a time and place for everything’ according to an old proverb. So when opportunity knocks at your door don’t turn around. Grab the offer with both hands. Act spontaneously. The moment you act will be the right time. You never know when the time runs out or the tide turns unfavourable. Time is like the sand fast pouring out of your hands. It is just like the onion being layer after layer and in the end you find there’s nothing remaining in it. It’s now or never. So like Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says:
Let us, then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labour and to wait.
TIME AND TIDE WAIT FOR NO ONE
This is a very simple, clear and self-explanatory proverb. It means that time and tide do not wait for anybody. Time goes on passing without caring for anybody and anything. Similarly tides occur ; they have no regard or consideration for anybody. Time and tide symbolise valuable opportunity. They occur without any notice. The essence of the proverb is that opportunities do not wait for anyone. No one can command or foretell their occurrence
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or recurrence. One should be alert and cautious because they occur without any notice. They are generally shortlived and pass quickly; No one can say whether or when they would come again. So one should be fully prepared to make the best use of an opportunity as and when it presents itself.
Time and tide are natural phenomena. Like other agents of nature, they too have no consideration and regard for any individual. Man cannot change their course. They are beyond the control of human hands. Man finds himself helpless before them. In ancient times there were no steamships. There were huge boats equipped with sails. They were called ships. Their launching in the sea was a difficult affair, which depended on the tide. The sailors had to wait for weeks and sometimes for months, because their ships could not sail without the help of a tide. As soon as the tide came, they sailed their ships away with it. If they missed the chance, they had to wait for the next tide about which there could be no certainty. A tide never waits for any sailor. It is for the sailor to wait and take advantage of the tide when it comes. It is for the sailors to take advantage of the tide. If they fail they suffer the consequences. ‘
This proverb is a lesson to all of us. It lays emphasis on the desirability of our preparedness to make the best use of an opportunity that presents itself to us. We should, therefore, remain vigilant, because even the slightest carelessness on our part may result in missing a great opportunity in life resulting in colossal loss. It also implies that opportunities are rare. No one can create them. They come of their own. Those who are ready, are able to take advantage of them, but lazy^ people let them slip.
Time is running fast. Yesterday will never come again. Even this moment when you are reading these lines will never come again. Time is an opportunity. If time will not come again, it means the opportunity will not come again. It is, therefore, necessary that one should grasp the opportunity as it comes. Missing an opportunity means missing the chance for ever, because one does not know whether the opportunity will recur or not. No amount of repentance would compensate the loss caused by such a failure. Nature is impersonal. It does not matter to it if a certain individual fails to make use of an opportunity offered by it. It is because of this aspect of the matter that wise men are always prepared to act with full vigour when time comes. They never postpone things.
Suppose a student is to appear in his final examination in January 1980. He has still many long months for study and preparation. In January 1980, he will get an opportunity to pass the examination in any division he likes. He can put in hard work to make the best use of the opportunity and achieve his objective. But if he does not put his heart and soul into the study or in case he completely misses this opportunity, he cannot get a chance of passing the examination in January 1980 in his whole life. It may be that he . passes the examination later but passing the examination in January
This is a very simple, clear and self-explanatory proverb. It means that time and tide do not wait for anybody. Time goes on passing without caring for anybody and anything. Similarly tides occur ; they have no regard or consideration for anybody. Time and tide symbolise valuable opportunity. They occur without any notice. The essence of the proverb is that opportunities do not wait for anyone. No one can command or foretell their occurrenceor recurrence. One should be alert and cautious because they occur without any notice. They are generally shortlived and pass quickly; No one can say whether or when they would come again. So one should be fully prepared to make the best use of an opportunity as and when it presents itself. Time and tide are natural phenomena. Like other agents of nature, they too have no consideration and regard for any individual. Man cannot change their course. They are beyond the control of human hands. Man finds himself helpless before them. In ancient times there were no steamships. There were huge boats equipped with sails. They were called ships. Their launching in the sea was a difficult affair, which depended on the tide. The sailors had to wait for weeks and sometimes for months, because their ships could not sail without the help of a tide. As soon as the tide came, they sailed their ships away with it. If they missed the chance, they had to wait for the next tide about which there could be no certainty. A tide never waits for any sailor. It is for the sailor to wait and take advantage of the tide when it comes. It is for the sailors to take advantage of the tide. If they fail they suffer the consequences. ‘ This proverb is a lesson to all of us. It lays emphasis on the desirability of our preparedness to make the best use of an opportunity that presents itself to us. We should, therefore, remain vigilant, because even the slightest carelessness on our part may result in missing a great opportunity in life resulting in colossal loss. It also implies that opportunities are rare. No one can create them. They come of their own. Those who are ready, are able to take advantage of them, but lazy^ people let them slip. Time is running fast. Yesterday will never come again. Even this moment when you are reading these lines will never come again. Time is an opportunity. If time will not come again, it means the opportunity will not come again. It is, therefore, necessary that one should grasp the opportunity as it comes. Missing an opportunity means missing the chance for ever, because one does not know whether the opportunity will recur or not. No amount of repentance would compensate the loss caused by such a failure. Nature is impersonal. It does not matter to it if a certain individual fails to make use of an opportunity offered by it. It is because of this aspect of the matter that wise men are always prepared to act with full vigour when time comes. They never postpone things. Suppose a student is to appear in his final examination in January 1980. He has still many long months for study and preparation. In January 1980, he will get an opportunity to pass the examination in any division he likes. He can put in hard work to make the best use of the opportunity and achieve his objective. But if he does not put his heart and soul into the study or in case he completely misses this opportunity, he cannot get a chance of passing the examination in January 1980 in his whole life. It may be that he . passes the examination later but passing the examination in January 1980 will be an impossibility for him. January 1980 will not wait for him. Missing the January 1980 examination will result in an irreparable loss.
Opportunities are rare. Generally they do not repeat. That is why wise people call them golden chances. It is always advisable to seize an opportunity as soon as it occurs, because it may never occur again. Such a chance, if availed of, may prove a boon in one’s life and may also ruin one’s life if it is missed. Many such instances may be cited from everyday life of many of us. A wise man, therefore, anxiously waits for an opportunity and makes the best use of it as soon as it occurs. Those who miss such opportunities because of their negligence or carelessness have to repent.
There is another aspect of the matter. Time and tide are immune to sentiments of loss or gain to individuals, communities and nations. In total disregard of loss or gain to individuals they follow their schedules. There can be no appeal against them.
It also flows from the proverb that one should be strictly punctual and should do one’s work at the proper or appointed time. The habit of’postponing things is not good. A thing postponed is generally never done. It also means that one should cultivate the habit of taking decisions quickly or at the ripe time. Vacillation in this regard may prove disastrous. Many people have met with failure in life because they would not take decision at the right time. Due to their vacillation the opportunity slipped out of their hands.
In conclusion, this proverb teaches us to be very cautious and not to miss an opportunity that comes to us, because the opportunity will not wait for us, and we do not know whether it will come again. If one fails to take advantage of one opportunity, he may never get another.
Time and tide wait for none!
“ TIME AND tide wait for no man.” This indeed is a well-known proverb. But how many times in our life have we desired that time was something we could capture in our hands and never let go. When we look back into our past, we gather a lot of memorable moments which we never want to get over, especially, those cheerfulchildhood days where we were pampered by one and all in our families. Those were the golden days of our lives. In the school days, we thought homework and exams were the hardest things one can ever face. Little did we know that with time, more hardships are bound to come.
In college days deciding on a career was another Herculean task. Advices came when they are hardly required. Everybody had a say on our decision making process and they got the better of us. Then we took a plunge into the vast ocean called career. For some of us, there will be a phase when we want to change that one decision. Alas!, the realization will sink in deep that it’s too late to change our decision. We will realize that there is no rewind option in the life’s clock.
We should realize the importance of taking the right decision at the right time. In that way, we will never regret any decision that we make in life. Procrastination will not help you to achieve the best things in life. So wake up before it is too late. Time might keep dodging us, but we should not get intimidated by it. All you need to do is, become excellent time managers. Be more organized in life and most importantly, be time-bound. Lead your life is such a way that you run in pace with time. Success will follow suit.
In English: Time and tide wait for no one. –Time is precious, once it is past, no one can go back and claim it. Thus everyone should be mindful of how his time is spent.
In German: Zeit ist Geld. –Time is money. = Time is precious. So you have to make the most of it.
Time is the most precious thing for a man as it comes only once in someone’s life and never stays long. Whether favorable or unfavorable, time is gone once means it never returns just like tide. Thus, the popular proverb goes like “ Time and Tide wait for none”.
It is seen that some people miss the bus for a while escape the severe accidents. Likewise a scientist discovers a valuable finding at a particular point of time which he had missed by chance means eh might not have got the credit of finding that. Although all these are matter of fate nevertheless time does not wait for anybody. If we fail to act when time is ripped, we miss the chance and curse our fate for ever. So it is advisable to do every work at an appropriate time so that one would never repent for the time wasted. In fact, he should wit patiently for the proper and favorable time, so that success will come easily and time will be used best.
In every field time has its own importance. If a farmer had not sown the seeds in proper season he would not get the paddy as thought. Similarly, the game of football one extra minute may also make a difference as during that one minute a player could score a goal against the opponent tem and the game would be over with an 1: 0 score in spite of simple draw. To add another example, if a doctor would not reach at the right time the patients life will not be saved. Thus, time is very important for every work to be completed as required.
In olden days there were now watches an people used to do their working following the direction of the Sun, even though people were sincere and punctual at those days. But today even after innumerable inventions and a lot developments people used to complain that they don’t have time. Is it that the time in olden days was long and today it is short? Not at all. Then where is the problem? Actually problem exists in time management. As time wasted never returns and today people are wasting a lot of time wandering they are experiencing the time short, so the complaint. For instance when the students have the time, they waste it in unnecessary discussions, love and student politics etc. but when examination comes nearer they start studying and complain for time short as they could not use the time left in a proper manner. Here a saying comes to mind, “ Time is short, not for rest, think your aim and do your best”.
Have we ever thought of the importance of time. If not, then we should give attention towards it –
To known the value of one year, ask the student who failed.
To know the value of one month, ask the mother of a premature baby.
To know the value of one week, ask the editor of a weekly.
To know the value of one day, ask the daily wage worker.
To know the value of one minute, ask the passenger who missed the train.
To know the value of one second, ask the person who escaped an accident.
Thus, scheduled management of time can give a person more time to do what he wants, improve his availability, improve his decision making, improve his health, improve his productivity, efficiently and effectiveness, make him easier to work with, make him feel more relaxed, minimize the risk he takes and most importantly reduces stress. So following steps should be taken to manage time.
Keep a time record. fix time for each activity and see that the work is completed within the time frame.
Short term goals: Set the goal for each day, week or a month, so that you can make sure that the time is spent in a systematic manner.
Planning- Plan and use your time in such a way that you have a clear idea of what you want to do with the day, make out a definite programme, know what you like doing with your leisure. Plan your work, organize it before you start, fix a time limit for each job and do your best to complete it within that time, learn to do things the right way- with ease and speed, eliminate all unnecessary moment, have the materials which you require at hand so that you can reach them without having to get up and walk around, try to do something useful with odd minutes like those spend waiting for bus or train i. e. read a book or plan your next job. Be punctual about appointments. Talking to people is fine but too much can become a vice.
Interruptions- Don’t’ allow any one to disturb you when you are doing an important work.
Relaxation- Relaxation is also important, so do spare for it.
Avoid overworking- Avoid overworking and try to begin and end the work in schedule time. Thus, make schedules to execute your work in a fruitful manner.
Meetings- Plan and prepare for conducting a meeting which will help in saving time and dealing with the subjects in an orderly manner.
Squandering time versus valid Downtime- Don’t squander time on low priority things during the time set aside for high priority goals. For example don’t watch television during the study time.
Doing it right the first time- The biggest thief of your valuable times is doing a sloppy job when you get down to work. If you are not bothered to do it right the first time, then you will not be motivated to do it ever.
Procrastination- Overcome these hurdles in the best possible manner. You must prepare and set study goals, imagine the pain, imagine the pleasure and give yourself permission to procrastinate some things, like giving a car a tuning.
Live and work at steady rhythm- Once you master the art of working steadily, you will certainly make the best use of time.
If you put these suggestions into practice and remember that if wealth is lost it can be regained but not the time, then you will be the happiest person in the world.
“ Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today ? How do you explain this golden maxim ?
One of the many weaknesses of which man must be warned is procrastination or putting off things that can be done today till a later date. There is some natural inertia in man which makes him lethargic. He knows he must work but he doesn’t want to unless he is goaded, very often leaves things where they are. If it doesn’t affect him personally he doesn’t act immediately. He would rather bask in idleness. To make him work and act many incentives are offered. Thus we see in business, what is called an incentive bonus. In regular services they are offered increments.
Man knows that putting off till tomorrow what one can do today is bad. So there are many maxims like ‘ time and tide wait for no man’. ‘ Take time by the forelock’; ‘ Make hay while the sun shines’. These idioms go to show how society realize the value of time and doing thing in time. For time lost is a loss forever and it can’t be brought back. Hence the proverb ‘ procrastination is a thief of time.’
Time is a factor which is very important, the more so nowadays. In the jet-age or the ‘ Supersonic-age’ everything takes place at a speed which the ancients would never have dreamed of. A generation or so ago it took many days to reach Malaysia from India. Now it is a matter of less than four hours. In order to keep pace with the speed with which things move, man also must know how to act quickly. Suppose one has to fly on a mission or business to a distant place he has to be at the airport very early. A delay of even five minutes would see the plane taken off and his whole program would be causing a lot of chain reactions. Suppose a man fails to turn up at the hour he has fixed for an engagement he would not only lose his face but it may also tell on his future with which his whole life is tied up. The more complex and technological the society grows, the value of time grows equally acute.
Work falls in arrears, means he has to work harder and even faster the next day. This is found among students who often postpone doing their homework and wait for the weekend holiday to come. But when the holiday comes they find it difficult to sit and do their homework while their friends are playing outside. The next day they have to think of ways and means to deceive their teachers when homework has to be passed up.
There is a sense of fulfillment for those people who are punctual and regular in their work. They enjoy a guilt-free conscience. A forcibly true example is the case of health. If there is any ailment one should attend to it immediately. Some people hide their ailments only to suffer later, when it is too late. When one is regular and punctual it adds to his dignity and brings him peace at heart.
It requires principles, discipline and will power to do one’s duty on hand at once. If only one were to keep a record of idle hours it would be astounding to see the sum total of the time. One must develop the philosophy of life quoted in the ‘ Village Blacksmith’, ‘ Something attempted, something done, earned him a night’s repose’.
“ Never leave till tomorrow what you can do today ? How do you explain this golden maxim ?
One of the many weaknesses of which man must be warned is procrastination or putting off things that can be done today till a later date. There is some natural inertia in man which makes him lethargic. He knows he must work but he doesn’t want to unless he is goaded, very often leaves things where they are. If it doesn’t affect him personally he doesn’t act immediately. He would rather bask in idleness. To make him work and act many incentives are offered. Thus we see in business, what is called an incentive bonus. In regular services they are offered increments.
Man knows that putting off till tomorrow what one can do today is bad. So there are many maxims like ‘ time and tide wait for no man’. ‘ Take time by the forelock’; ‘ Make hay while the sun shines’. These idioms go to show how society realize the value of time and doing thing in time. For time lost is a loss forever and it can’t be brought back. Hence the proverb ‘ procrastination is a thief of time.’
Time is a factor which is very important, the more so nowadays. In the jet-age or the ‘ Supersonic-age’ everything takes place at a speed which the ancients would never have dreamed of. A generation or so ago it took many days to reach Malaysia from India. Now it is a matter of less than four hours. In order to keep pace with the speed with which things move, man also must know how to act quickly. Suppose one has to fly on a mission or business to a distant place he has to be at the airport very early. A delay of even five minutes would see the plane taken off and his whole program would be causing a lot of chain reactions. Suppose a man fails to turn up at the hour he has fixed for an engagement he would not only lose his face but it may also tell on his future with which his whole life is tied up. The more complex and technological the society grows, the value of time grows equally acute.
Work falls in arrears, means he has to work harder and even faster the next day. This is found among students who often postpone doing their homework and wait for the weekend holiday to come. But when the holiday comes they find it difficult to sit and do their homework while their friends are playing outside. The next day they have to think of ways and means to deceive their teachers when homework has to be passed up.
There is a sense of fulfillment for those people who are punctual and regular in their work. They enjoy a guilt-free conscience. A forcibly true example is the case of health. If there is any ailment one should attend to it immediately. Some people hide their ailments only to suffer later, when it is too late. When one is regular and punctual it adds to his dignity and brings him peace at heart.
It requires principles, discipline and will power to do one’s duty on hand at once. If only one were to keep a record of idle hours it would be astounding to see the sum total of the time. One must develop the philosophy of life quoted in the ‘ Village Blacksmith’, ‘ Something attempted, something done, earned him a night’s repose’.
Essay on the Importance of Time
Time is said to be eternal. It is said that it has neither a beginning nor an end. Yet men are able to measure it as years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds. They have also given meanings to the words – past, present and future. True, time has a meaning. It moves. What was yesterday is not today. What is today will not be tomorrow. Yesterday is gone. Today is
