Why So Worried? (Part 2)
New Word
TARDOPHOBIA
"The fear of being late."
Because no one has got around to defining a decent one.
There are over 500 phobias that have actual names. Reading the list, you would think that half of them must have been made up. It's as if on a quiet day at Merriam Webster someone checked out a Latin dictionary and added phobia to some random entries. Interestingly, the online list I am using phobialist.com* does not list a phobia for being late or being early. Apparently there isn't a clinical term for them.
There's allegrophobia* for the fear of being late but that's just someone having a laugh. To be honest I don't get the joke because allegro doesn't mean late in any language and in music it means brisk. There are nine different music terms for slow (that's Italians for you) and I'm choosing one of those instead to invent a new word called tardophobia.
Isn't it strange there's no formal definition? Procrastination must be perfectly normal behaviour.
Gorilla Me
Gorilla specialises in intimidation. He stands between you and getting that report delivered because it may not be good enough. He prevents me from making that call because I don't want to hear bad news. He stops you from applying for that job because you worry that you don't have the right qualifications.
There are countless ways that Gorillas prevent us from doing stuff. Far too many to list here.
But they also chase us to do things too. As that deadline approaches, it's often Gorilla who will clear the path for us.
* an asterisk at the end of a link means that if you click this link you will be taken to another site.