I have been thinking a lot about time. Why am I doing what I am doing? When do I get to have fun? How much fun should I have? Should I spend time doing fun things? Or should I work all the time?
See money spent today is not there tomorrow, but if you live forever for tomorrow you will die unhappy and with a big pile of cash.
Really seems silly when you think about it, but if you are disciplined and know that there is such thing as delayed gratification, then you have had to ask this question at one point or another.
“Time is the greatest teacher, unfortunately it kills all of it’s pupils”
I heard a TED talk today about time and how to take a healthy perspective on it. I think that this is something I need to really consider. Something I need to absorb into my collective.
He broke down the six views of time which people have:
1. Past Negative – decisions and mindset based on bad experiences
2. Past Positive – focus only on positive previous experiences, “insanity is doing the same thing twice and expecting a different result”
3. Present Hedonism – pleasure focused
4. Present Fatalism – fatalism
5. Future End of Life – life-goal oriented
6. Future Afterlife – after life oriented (transcendental)
Problem is lately I have been getting really good at number five and ignoring much of anything else.
Future oriented (obsessed) individuals tend to sacrifice family time, friend time, fun time, hobbies. SLEEP, etc. And this is not healthy or balanced.
Turns out the optimal mix is:
High on Past POSITIVE – your roots and being grounded, your family and where you came from
Moderate High on Future Goals – gives you dreams and ambitions
Moderate on Present Hedonism – gives you the drive and energy to keep going, to explore yourself and others and to enjoy.
____________
My new goal is to really contemplate this theory and to figure out what makes sense for me and adapt. I don’t think it requires any more explanation, just enjoy.
M
PS. original TED post that inspired me: