In the video below, Professor Philip Zimbardo conveys how our individual perspectives of time affect our work, health, and well-being. Time influences who we are as a person, how we view relationships, and how we act in the world.

As the video depicts, our society has been shifting to one that has become increasingly impatient. Our future oriented goals affect our family values and our societial impact. We search for this future pot of gold and in the hunt for it, we neglect things that actually matter.

If you had an extra day, so an 8th day a week, what would you do with it? Would you spend it with your family, your friends, or would you spend it at the office? We have been shifting towards a society that cares more about seeking pleasure and making money than building relationships and making a difference on this Earth. You should start being cognizant of that with all of your actions. Are you interested in being a mentor to your son or just buying him gifts. Will he remember the new television you bought him or the fact that you were at his baseball game when he hit the game-winning home run?

20 years ago, only 60% of American families had sit-down family dinners. Now, that number has gone way down to only 20%. This is pitiful. We also sacrifice our health for “success”. Heart disease and other health issues has gone way up in countries that are future oriented. Try to focus more on the things in life that are important like building relationships and helping improve the lives of others, namely your family and friends.