By Jeff Hough
Time seems to be moving faster. As a kid I remember days moving slowly and summers lasting forever. Now as an adult, days blend together in a blur and summers fly by at warp speed. While pondering the passage of time, I began to wonder what causes this phenomenon. Then, while researching a different topic, I believe I stumbled on the answer.
Our brains are amazing things. As good as computers are, our brains are better. Yet, like any piece of machinery, our brains have limits. Think of your brain as a muscle. As muscles get used, they fatigue and wear out. While you can train your muscles to improve strength and stamina, the fact remains you can wear a muscle out. The same goes for your brain.
Your brain uses energy to perform its daily duties. The more you tax the brain with mental processes, the more energy it consumes. A 2008 study by Kathleen Vohs and others demonstrated the brain’s diminishing capacity.
Simply put, you only have so much mental energy to use each day. This is what makes time go by so fast. In our digital world we are constantly bombarded with information. As a coping mechanism to avoid overload, our brains begin to filter out much of the noise surrounding us.
Consider looking through the side window of your car. While stationary, you can see much of the detail surrounding you. But as the car begins to move, the number of details you notice reduces as you speed up. Finally, you reach a speed where everything is a blur except big things.
As our lives become more complex, it is like riding in a car at full speed. While our brains are running at full speed, it makes time seem to go by faster because we filter out so much. Without taking the time to recharge your mental batteries, the world becomes a blur. Then time passes at amazing speed.
With the daily deluge of information, it becomes easy for everything to become noise. It is difficult to make sense of anything with all our digital distractions begging for attention.
The trick is being able to make sense of the noise surrounding us each day. Finding meaning and making connections is key to living a fuller life.
One thing you can do to slow time and add meaning to your day is to turn off your digital notifications and alerts. It becomes almost impossible to concentrate when you are constantly pinged by incoming messages. The same goes for your phone. It is difficult to be in the moment with your phone vibrating in your pocket.
Another tool you can use to find meaning is meditation. Research shows that daily meditation can improve your critical thinking and attention span. Since I started a daily five-minute meditation routine, I can attest to the research. Meditating is like a quick reboot for your brain.
Finally, take the time to think deeply each day. Because we have so much information around us, most of our thinking is superficial. Superficial thinking may save brain power, but it leads to limited understanding.
Deep thinking helps you focus on a thought and allows you to explore where that thought takes you. This leads to making connections you didn’t see before.
We live in a wonderful age, filled with amazing things. Take time to slow the car down to appreciate and understand what is going on around you.
Jeff Hough is a business author, blogger and speaker in Pocatello.
