What does it mean to Zoom-Out and Zoom-In the time dimension?
Well we can zoom-in to the present moment.
We can zoom-out to see a broader arc of time beyond the present moment.
We can zoom-out to see the current moment in the context of the broader arc of time.
We can zoom-out to the future and look back on the present moment.
We can zoom-out to the past and look forward to the present moment.
As humans, we have the cognitive skills to do this. Note that projecting into the future or the past can be to the detriment of our wellbeing and performance. With zoom-out we aim to leverage this ability to our benefit. To find the most helpful perspective in any given situation.
What is Time?
At first, it may seem like an odd question to ask, “What is time?”. We are used to asking or hearing, “What time is it?” but not “What is time?”. But it turns out that the answer to both of these questions is not at all straightforward.
There is objective time — the passing of time outside our mind and there is subjective or perceived time. Even objective time is relative and not the same everywhere as a certain Mr Einstein taught us.
“Pardon me, do you have the time?
What now, or when you asked me?”
– George Carlin
When you are asleep or unconscious for a period, time does not stand still, although you may have no real experience of the passing of that time or at best a distorted experience.
And it gets stranger still.
As humans, we are endowed with the power to transcend time and space itself. We can travel back in time and travel into the future. We can recall a time gone by and relive it. We can imagine a future that has yet to transpire or that may never transpire.
“I have suffered a great many misfortunes in my life, most of which never happened” – Mark Twain
Being a time-traveller can be both a source of great joy but also of deep sorrow. More generally speaking, the perspectives we adopt in relation to time can have a profound effect on our emotions and effectiveness. In Zoom-Out terms, we speak of Zooming-Out in the time dimension.
Here are some blog posts in the Zoom-Out Dimension:
- “Time is Change” Zoom-Out
- “Past Self” Zoom-Out
- How to embrace change rather than resist it
- “Bumpy Road” Zoom-Out
- “Future Shaping” Zoom-Out
- A wise monk’s powerful and simple formula for happiness
- Out of Time – a Zoom-Out Parable
- Sandsend [poem]
- George Carlin on Time
- Legacy Zoom-Out
Select here or the Time dimension card to browse the Time dimension posts