You know the story of Rip Van Winkle. He’s the fellow who fell asleep and awoke decades later, with a full beard and tattered clothes. One minute he’s a young man, and what seems to him a few hours later, he’s ancient!
Well, something like that happens to us as we get older. Time seems to fly by ever more quickly the older you get. As my 82-year-old grandfather once told me, “It seems like only yesterday I was 18!” So, like Rip Van Winkle, when we are older, we suddenly “wake up” and realize that it seems like only a short while ago that we were young!
Two books address this phenomenon. The first, “Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes Our Past,” by Douwe Draaisma, and Philip Zimbardo and John Boyd’s “The Time Paradox,” suggest that the perception of time flying by occurs because when we are younger, everything is new and novel events create strong memories. As we age and get into routines, we do the same things over and over and we do not store vivid memories of repeated events, so time seems to fly by.
Think about it. The first time you visit a spectacular place, say Yosemite or Yellowstone, you make vivid memories that are recalled and replayed. But, if you visit every year, the “replayed” events don’t make lasting impressions, and before you know it, it’s years later and you have few unique memories (e.g., “Did we go on that hike in 2011 or 2013?”). Time seems to fly.
This doesn't just happen with life events, we can observe the same phenomenon in a shorter space of time. For instance, the first couple of days of your 2-week vacation seem long and leisurely, and the time goes slowly. You're thankful that you have two long weeks of this. But, the next thing you know, it's almost over and you are heading home!
I noticed that my first academic job seemed like a long one. Everything was new, and I have many memories, and I often recall the many lessons I learned from that job. Interestingly, the position was only 9 months long! The same is true of subsequent jobs: The first years go slowly and seem full of important accomplishments, then the next many years rush by in a blur.
So, how do you keep from feeling like Rip Van Winkle? How do you slow down this perception that time is flying by. The answer is to get out of routines and fill your life with new experiences. Avoid getting into ruts. Also, stop and savor the moments and the experiences. Although routines may be familiar and comforting, they also lead to a perception that time is passing more quickly, and the world is passing us by.
Reflect on events in order to make lasting memories, and you can slow down time at least a little bit.
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References
Douwe Draaisma (2012). Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes Our Past.
Philip Zimbardo & John Boyd. (2009). The time paradox. Atria books.
