Evoke a Timeless Experience

Feeling pressured, anxious, hurried, and overwhelmed are part of linear time perspectives, a way of experiencing time flowing relentlessly among past, present, and future. It's this infrastructure, the relentless and uncontrollable flow of time that makes you anxious. But you don't need to experience time this way. During peak experience you're probably so absorbed in what you're doing there's either no awareness of time flowing, or it seems like time is going very quickly but isn't making you anxious with its passing. (See Linear vs. Timeless Views.)

We all have certain activities or projects or techniques that easily foster such 'time warps' or timelessnesses. Think about what you like to do that normally does away with the feeling of time flowing linearly and relentlessly from moment to moment. What gets you so absorbed you don't notice time passing? Identify three activities that bring about a sense of timelessness, well-being, and relaxation.

Now whenever you're feeling pressured, and provided of course that your circumstances allow (e.g., if you're at work, you may not be able to ski), you can do one of those activities to break through the pressure and foster a sense of timelessness. Just do one of the activities you've identified until the pressure lightens. The choice is yours whether you continue to reinforce the pressured linear flow of time or open it up to some less fixed experience.

Now you can do one of the other deadline pressure exercises to change an inflexible pressured situation into a more flowing and enjoyable experience. Or if you want to read more, and particularly if you think the time pressure in your situation is really unchangeable, read "Where Does Time Pressure Come From?"

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