Six Months In . . . Just Like That
Check your calendar. The 4th of July was yesterday. June 30th has come and gone. The first six months of 2018 are over. Just like that.
A couple years ago, I read an interesting article about time perception. It’s stuck with me because people my age constantly yak about how fast “life is slipping away.” Turns out there’s something to that observation, at least in how our brains work and how we perceive time.
The article points out that when we’re younger, we’re doing things for the first time, so our brain is writing down more details. Check it out . . .
“The more detailed the memory, the longer the moment seems to last. ‘This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,’ Neuroscientist David Eagleman says. ‘This is why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.’”
Can we slow it down at all? The article suggests these five things . . .
- Keep learning – Giving your brain new information to consume and process will slow down your perception of time. But as a mentor, you already knew this was important, right? ?
- Visit new places – When you visit a new place, your brain has to work hard to interpret all the new info . . . sights, sounds, smells, etc. It can even be as simple as trying new restaurants or visiting a new friend’s house.
- Meet new people – People are complex, so meeting new ones takes even more brainpower than processing new information or new places. Think about it . . . you have to interpret emotions, body language, accents, etc.
- Try new activities – When you do new things, “your brain is on high alert and your senses are heightened, because you’re taking in new sensations and feelings at a rapid rate.”
- Be spontaneous – As anyone who hates surprises will tell you, surprises heighten your senses and make you pay attention. Spontaneous activities and surprises give your brain less time to prepare, so it takes longer to process.
All this newness and change makes your brain work harder and thus stretches out time in your mind. So, here’s the challenge. In the last half of 2018 . . . expand your borders . . . slow down time by learning more of our Father and His ways . . . reach out to new people . . . be ‘about His business’ in new ways and as a result, live more minutes per clock hour.
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Responses (1)
Solid!!