This post is in response to the class assignment in IXD program I am currently taking at Sheridan College.
I decided to do a blog post reflection about our first exercise: the time paradox. “The time paradox” is a book written by Philip Zimbardo & John Boyd. Zimbardo is a psychologist who became known after his Stanford Prison Experiment. After the prison experiment, Zimbardo looked for ways in which psychology could help people.
He concluded that time is one of the most powerful influences on our lives because it affects our thoughts, actions, and feelings and yet, we do not realize that. Every attitude toward time perspective holds benefits and if unbalanced – great costs. At the same time even though the time perspective is personal and learned through personal experiences – it changes the destinies of nations.
When you go to The Time Paradox website, you are asked to take a quiz to find out about your attitudes toward different time perspectives. According to Zimbardo, there is few different time perspective: Past-Negative, Past-Positive, Present-Fatalistic, Present-Hedonistic and Future.
Past-negative: 2.20
Past-positive: 2.33
Present-fatalistic: 1.89
Present-hedonistic: 3.13
Future: 3.46
The test score made me realize that I’m more of a future-oriented person. I did another test a week later to see if my results will vary and how much different the score would be. The reason for that was, that at the time I was taking the test for the first time I was really tired, so I thought that this could have impacted the way I chose answers to the questions. Paradoxically speaking, I was even more tired when taking the test for the second time!
Past-negative: 3.00
Past-positive: 1.89
Present-fatalistic: 1.56
Present-hedonistic: 2.93
Future: 2.85
I found out that when answering some of the questions for the second time, my answers were much more decisive than when answering them for the first time. I had an even more negative attitude towards my Past, and I was even less Past Positive, though for my Present Fatalism I got a similar score. My Future score was significantly lower though.
The results of the tests made me realize that my attitude towards past needs to change. Nobody can change the events that happened though. I realized that Past, as well as Future, are abstract. I cannot either go back into the Past, and I cannot go into the Future. The only control I have is the Present.
I realized that to change my attitude toward my Past I have to boost up my hedonistic side of life to create pleasurable experiences that would later turn into the Past thus creating a better memory of the Past. That way changing my attitude towards Past would be easy and natural.
Planning better for the Future in the Present Fatalism would also help with changing my Past Positive score, this should boost up my Present.
This test was an exciting way to make me realize that by altering little things in my present moment in life I can make it more fulfilling and successful. I believe that knowing who my enemy is is a key to winning a fight, and by the enemy, I mean my shortcomings.
How this test affected my life?
It made me aware that I have to seize the moment. I’m trying to seize the moments of my life right now. It is a learning journey.