The secret powers of time

The above RSA animation of Professor Philip Zimbardo's talk sheds light on time perspectives and how it affects our work, health and well-being.

He peppers it with interesting examples, including the oft-repeated marshmallow experiment, and how your social status, pace of life, your religion, where you are located geographically and even the lack of seasons influences your perspective of time and therefore who you are as a person, how you relate to people and how you act daily.

It's an important question to ask yourself: Are you past-, present- or future-oriented?

The original, extended 41-min video and this second shorter video from TED clarifies his points.

Further reading:
1. Sean at Cosmic Variance recently posted "Ten Things Everyone Should Know About Time", digesting the ideas presented at an inter-disciplinary conference on the nature of time
2. Derek Sivers blogged about Zimbardo's The Time Paradox and took notes.
3. Read the first chapter of The Time Paradox