You can set your watch by them. It’s a phrase you don’t hear much any more. One reason is there is very little watch setting going on. With most watches today there is no need. They adjust to time zone changes as you travel. They spring ahead, or fall back, or do neither depending on where you live. You pretty much strap them on and forget about time adjustments.
I recall wrist watches you had to wind. There was a little nub on the side. You had to wind it regularly. If you neglect to do so the watch would lose its ability to indicate accurate time. The watch would slow down and then stop. There were, literally, lots of moving parts.
The phrase, you can set your watch by them, indicated a person’s dependability. The person was so consistent in their actions you knew what time it was by what they did, and where they were.
My neighbor, Jon, is like that. He is in the fitness center every morning by 5:30am. Even if there were no clocks displayed in the center, when he walks in it’s 5:30am. If he is not there something is wrong, or he is out of town.
We all strive to be people who others can, metaphorically, set their watch by. In other words we ought to strive to be people of dependability. Dependability is something you can choose.
Dependability is being where you said you would be
Dependability is doing what you said you would do
Dependability is arriving early so you can be on time
Dependability is making commitments that you can fulfill
Dependability is saying what you mean and meaning what you say
Dependability is being someone others can count on. You don’t shirk responsibility, nor do you make promises you have no control over. A dependable person holds themselves accountable. A dependable person completes the task they take responsibility for.
When someone gives a gift that is not, necessarily, overly expensive, it is often viewed as thoughtful. It is the thought that counts. Dependability is not like that. Dependability understands it is not the thought that counts, but the action of fulfilling a role or responsibility that counts.
The late Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., the founder and first President of Bob Jones University, said: “The greatest ability is dependability.” Ability is both something someone has, and a character trait that can be developed. This makes dependability something we can choose. Choose to be someone others can set their watch by.