Time perspective 2

 “It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” ― Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy

Zimbardo identified five key approaches to time perspective. These are:

The ‘past-negative’ type. You focus on negative personal experiences that still have the power to upset you. This can lead to feelings of bitterness and regret. The mind does not cover the pain with scar tissue, so the pain is still raw.

The ‘past-positive’ type. You take a nostalgic view of the past and stay in very close contact with your family. You tend to have happy relationships, but the downside is a cautious, “better safe than sorry” approach which may hold you back. The wound remains and over time you are protected by the scar tissue, and you can bear the pain with grace.

The ‘present-hedonistic’ type. You are dominated by pleasure-seeking impulses, and are reluctant to postpone feeling good for the sake of greater gain later. You are popular but tend to have a less healthy lifestyle and take more risks. The pain is driven away by time and your ability to ignore the event that caused you the pain.

The ‘present-fatalistic’ type. You aren’t enjoying the present but feel trapped in it, unable to change the inevitability of the future. This sense of powerlessness can lead to anxiety, depression and risk-taking. The sense of powerlessness causes them to rip off the scars that are being formed to protect them from the pain.

The ‘future-focused’ type. You are highly ambitious, focused on goals, and big on making ‘to do’ lists. You tend to feel a nagging sense of urgency that can create stress for yourself and those around you. Your investment in the future can come at the cost of close relationships and recreation time. The passage of time and your ambition cause you to drive the pain underground so over time it becomes dull and can be ignored.

All five types come into play in our lives at some point, but there probably will be one or two directions in which you are more focused. Identify these and you can start developing a more flexible, healthier approach.

Balance and positivity come from understanding our time perspective and finding positive and healthy ways to appreciate the present, while living in the present and making plans for our future. But how easily we time travel in our time perspective makes a crucial difference to how well we do in life and how happy we are while we’re living it.