Unless you consider some of the oddities of quantum physics, there are basically two ways to think about the passage of time. You can adopt a linear view of time (which seems to be most people’s choice) or you can adopt a circular view of time. Allow me to illustrate the difference by using imaginary dominoes.
Most of you, at some point in your life, have lined up a group of dominoes in a fashion that allows you to knock them all down by tipping the first one over. Now think Pixar-like and imagine a similar line of animated dominoes marching by in front of you. In this illustration, each domino represents one unit of time. If you need, let’s say, five units of time to complete a task, you simply reach out and grab five dominoes as they pass by. If you need seven units of time to complete the next task, you reach out and grab seven more dominoes.
However, from a linear point of view in your imaginary world, if you don’t reach out and grab the dominoes as they pass by, they continue their march until they fall over an imaginary cliff into an abyss never to be seen again. From this mental point of view, unused time is lost forever. Feelings of frustration often accompany this sense of lost time.
Now let’s make a slight mental adjustment and think of time as circular. In this imaginary world, the animated dominoes march around you in a circle. If you need some time to complete a task, again you reach out and grab what you need. However, in this scenario you will always have additional chances to use the time. The same dominoes will come around again next cycle.
For example, let’s say you have a bad day and don’t accomplish what you set out to do for the day. A circular view of time helps you think, “I wish I had accomplished more today, but time is coming around again tomorrow and I will have another chance to get things right.” Yes, I know it is a mental game, but such is – to a large extent – life. Remember, what happens to you does not matter as much as how you respond to it. Adopting a circular view of time helps you gain and maintain peace of mind in a somewhat chaotic world.
Use this kind of thinking if you make New Year’s resolutions. Many people develop great resolutions this time of year and quickly abandon them after one slipup. Do your best to stick with your New Year’s resolutions as long as possible. However, if you slip up and break your resolve, think circular. Think, “Oops, I slipped up today; however, I’ll get another chance to get it right tomorrow.”
Article by Chris Crouch from Memphis Daily News.
Smart Stuff 4 Work is written by Chris Crouch. Chris has spent years researching and studying both the mental and physical aspects of being productive and is the author of several books on the topic including Getting More Done
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