The Anticipatory Theory

Roast: Light to Medium

Years ago, a colleague of mine and I had recently returned from a business trip in Florida. Our local sales representative there had played host during our visit and we had the pleasure of meeting his wonderful family. While having dinner together one evening, I seized the opportunity to pontificate on my theories of time and LRPs (My theory of time...and the introduction to LRPs and A stitch in time). I was intrigued and pleased to hear some of the interesting ideas that both our sales representative and his wife had on the subject. I thought I'd share a bit from that discussion.

If you've been a faithful reader of my blog, you know that I have a few theories on why the passage of time seems to accelerate as we grow older. However, after my discussion with my friends in Florida, I must admit that there are probably quite a few other theories that deserve investigation. One of the main ideas we discussed during that dinner revolved around child-like anticipation. Thus, I have coined this as the Anticipatory Theory of Time.

The basic logic of this theory is that time will seem to pass slower when we are anticipating something of significance to take place. Do you remember as a child when your parents announced that the family would be taking vacation to Walt Disney World during Easter break? The months leading up to that planned vacation always seemed to take forever. Why is that? Even as an adult, I have experienced this same phenomenon as we plan our annual family vacations to Door County. It seems as if the anticipation of the upcoming event acts as a catalyst for slowing down time, at least in our minds. Granted, I have not taken the time to ponder the full effects of anticipation - but I am intrigued by this new theory (I realize it's actually more of a hypothesis than a theory, but allow me some grace).

Perhaps when considering your next LRP (Life Reference Point) event, you should consider planning it well in advance. By combining both the ideas of LRPs and the Anticipatory Theory, you may find that slowing the passage of time is seemingly possible - at least on a relative basis.

My theory of time...and the introduction to LRPs

I wrote this blog post originally back in 2008, but I thought I would re-post. I have often thought about writing a book about this idea - and in fact last year I started one (intro and beginning of chapter 1), but I don't know that I have the patience or fortitude to complete an entire book...we'll see. So, for the moment, enjoy this blog re-post:

Growing up, I always remember hearing my parents talk about how quickly time went by. But as a kid, time seemed endless to me. Days and weeks would pass by slowly and years felt like an eternity.

As an adult, I've quickly come to realize what my parents were talking about those many years ago. It feels like only yesterday that my wife and I were beginning our life together and starting a family. But the reality is that we have a daughter about to enter her teen years, and our baby is almost 8. Why is it that time seems to accelerate with age?

I'm sure many of you have pondered this same question. And sure, there are probably countless simple answers as to why this occurs. However, I have come up with my own theory to explain this phenomenon, which I will do my best to try to elaborate.

The premise of my theory revolves around something that I've termed as "Life Reference Points" or LRPs for short. Life Reference Points are defined as significant events that take place in ones life. As such, these LRPs become a time stamp or point of reference for your mind, allowing you to recall specific memories and relate them to a specific time. As children, we had the luxury of built-in LRPs in the form of schooling. We could reference almost everything that happened to us by what grade we were in during that particular time. However, as we get older, Life Reference Points are few and far between. Sure, there are weddings, graduations, births, etc., but it seems that the day-in and day-out of everyday living seems to all meld together. I believe its this "blurring" of time that causes us to feel as though time is passing ever so quickly. Thus, it is my conclusion that if we want to slow our perception of time, we must create new Life Reference Points in regular intervals. By doing so, this will effectively provide our minds a chronological perspective of time.

One of the best methods that I've found for creating LRPs as an adult is to plan yearly vacations as a family. Besides the intrinsic value of spending time together as a family, I've found that these vacations can help segregate the years and create reference points for the other events in my life.

Obviously, this is just one person's theory, but I believe there is some validity to these thoughts. If you feel like time is moving too fast, maybe you need to create some LRPs.