Sunday, July 10, 2022

Time Perspective 1

 Live for each second without hesitation. Elton John

As humans, we know the future is a promise and may not happen. The past cannot be changed. We live in the moment. Actually, I think Science tells us that we all have a different understanding of time. So that my understanding of time and Elton John’s understanding of time are not the same.

As we go through life, we time traveler: We are shaped by memories of the past that influence our understanding of the present and help predict what we see in our future. Scientists call this our time-perspective. We all know those who tend to get stuck in the past, and others who live only for the moment, or are enslaved by our ambitions for the future.

Stanford University psychology professor emeritus Philip Zimbardo coined the idea of time perspective. After more than ten years’ research, he concluded that our attitude toward time is just as defining as key personality traits such as optimism or sociability. He believes that time perspective influences many of our judgements, decisions, and actions.

Culture, upbringing and societal norms affect our understanding of time and help shape our time perspective. Individualistic, me-focused societies tend to be future-focused, while more we-focused societies ones that encourage social engagement invest more in the past. Poorer communities tend to live more in the present.

Scientists tell us that we can learn to shift our attention easily between the past, present and future, and consciously adapt our mindset to any given situation. Learning to switch time perspectives allows us to fully take part in everything we do, whether it’s a relaxed evening reading a good book or recalling old stories with family and friends.

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