Think about that word. Its etymology is to fail to keep an appointment.
Our mind loves to book favourable appointments with destiny. Once an appointment is booked, a part of our mind already leaps ahead in time and attends it. Even as we have just booked our vacation to Greece, we find ourselves daydreaming about white sand beaches. Even as we have just finished interviewing for a new job, we already draft the outlines of our resignation letter.
To some degree, this tendency of our mind is healthy. It gets us out of bed in the morning, puts a spring in our step and gives us something to look forward to. However, when these appointments aren’t honoured, it also sets us up for disappointment. To prevent this disappointment, a part of our mind ought to be open to the possibility that our appointments with destiny can be cancelled on very short notice.
On a work calendar, you can always mark an appointment as tentative. Destiny is fickle with keeping her appointments. Therefore, whenever she features on the list of invitees, always mark the appointment as ‘tentative’.
Observations 