It sounds like a fantastic dream doesn’t it?
It is.
But first lets get this out of the way.
Travel may or may not extend the age at which you die.
I’m not talking about that kind of life extension. Im talking about the kind of life we don’t normally talk about, I’m talking about the depth and breadth of your life not just how many minutes you can squeeze out of it but how memorable those minutes were.
But aren’t all minutes the same?
Nope not even close.
Have you ever felt time “slow down” during a life threatening situation. Turns out that’s a real thing, sort of.
Turns out our perception of time is intimately connected to our memories. Or put another way, time is relative to how vivid our memories are.
For example when your in a life threatening situation your brain triggers a response that enables you to remember more of what happened during that time. This memory becomes so vivid that we are tricked into thinking time slowed down but in reality we just remember more of what happened.
This is also why an hour felt so much longer as a kid than it does as an adult. When your a kid everything is fresh and new; there’s simply more vivid memories there.
*The longer and more scientific version of why this happens can be read here.
The problem is that when we get older things become monotonous, we automate common experiences and we end up forgetting them.
A great example of this is taking the same car route to work, the more you drive the same route, the shorter it feels; often times people forget the drive entirely.
So how do we get our life back?
Its simple really, do new things! Take the scenic route home, cook a dish you’ve never tried before or simply listen to something new everyday. The little things add up.
But if you really want to slow things down try traveling.
Its the ultimate sensory experience, everything is new. money, language, culture hell even going to the bathroom in another country is an experience you’ll never forget. Its almost like your a kid again, relearning everything from scratch.
I recently experienced this first hand after traveling the world for 5 months while working remotely. It’s been 3 months since I’ve been back and it feels like I was gone for a year. This is also why I am such a huge fan of remote work, it literally gives you more life.
Of course not everyone can travel, if you can don’t hesitate. Otherwise take the new route home and do something new everyday.
Because in the end, it’s not the years in your life that count but rather it’s the life in your years.
If you want to know more about how the brain reasons about time check out David Eagleman’s talk on “The Now” over at The Long Now Foundation http://longnow.org/seminars/02016/oct/04/brain-and-now/
