Saturday, October 10, 2009

Time orientation

I have noticed that people with time orientation may become frustrated with one another and that this may interfere with their ability to communicate with one another effectively.
I fall into the category of future, pragmatic-action. I am concerned about planning for my kid’s education and my retirement. Every day I plan my kids’ meals, activities and schedules. I want to make sure they get everything they need. One of my relatives has a present orientation. She can never seem to plan ahead and she seems more comfortable being busy in the present and ignoring the future. Even before she had kids, she thought little about the future or the consequences of her actions. When she recently read an article about how much it takes to retire, she decided not to even try saving more. She said that she would never be able to save that much, so why try.
While my relative is a warm and caring person, I interpret what she says based on my underlying feeling that she is irresponsible and doesn’t think ahead. I think she interprets what I say with an underlying feeling that I am judgmental and don’t enjoy life enough. Generally, we get along, but we avoid talking about responsibility and planning. If we do talk about these things, it often leads to frustration or a misunderstanding.

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