350: I'm Always Late—Here's What Changed
Welcome to the Joyful Mom Podcast!
In this episode, Megan opens by sharing her excitement about her Heal Your Trigger in 30 Days challenge, where she guides participants to release a specific trigger by the end of the program. She then shifts the conversation to the theme of time—specifically her lifelong struggle with being late. Inspired by a business conference on integrity, she reflects on how punctuality connects to living in alignment with one’s word. For Megan, being consistently late wasn’t intentional but rather a patterned behavior she had to confront and begin to change.
She explains how identity and language shape habits, noting that telling herself “I’m always late” only reinforced the cycle. By reframing it to “I’ve been late, but I’m becoming someone who’s on time,” she opens the door for change. Megan also encourages both sides—those who are always punctual and those who run late—to show compassion. People who arrive late, she stresses, are rarely doing it on purpose, but it is important to acknowledge that lateness disrespects other people’s time. She urges listeners to practice integrity by communicating if they’ll be delayed, which can help maintain trust and respect in relationships.
Finally, Megan shares practical strategies that have helped her shift her habits. She realized she’s predictably 15 minutes late everywhere, so she began adding extra buffer time—leaving earlier than her initial instinct and planning for the “in-between” steps like getting kids ready or walking from the car. While it feels mentally challenging and even “too early,” she finds it ultimately relieves stress and allows her to arrive on time. Megan closes by inviting listeners who struggle with lateness to try this method themselves and share their experiences with her, while also offering support for those dealing with anxiety, trauma, and triggers through her coaching work.
If you want to learn more about how you can clear anxiety more automatically by rewiring how the mind is working and processing things, go to my website www.meganhillukka.com where you can click on a link to register for my free training, where I will show you what you need in order to do this.
