Hey — It’s Toffer.
I want to undo time. Not by reversing it, but by demystifying limiting beliefs about it.
I often prioritize time because it’s all I have. But when it overshadows my well-being, it becomes a problem.
I’m turning the tables today.
Estimated read time: 5 minutes
⛓️ Doing Time
The origin of the phrase “doing time” is unclear, but for me, it vividly captures the nature of being in prison. In this one phrase, the active, busy, continuous present tense word “doing” crashing straight into the vast, eternal, and ominous word “time,” poetically sums up the feeling of endlessness and all-consuming confinement.
It’s just a feeling, but a strong one. This sensation of time stretching into an unending expanse magnifies the suffering inherent in imprisonment. Each moment becomes a reminder of the monotony and limitation imposed upon one's life.
Yet, although I have no control over my feelings, and even if the environment plays a large part in shaping them, there is still a part of me that is separate from it all. Ultimately, it’s up to me, not the passage of time, to determine how terrible the experience becomes. My perception and reaction to my circumstances are within my control, offering a glimmer of agency even in the most restrictive situations.
As Tupac Shakur argues, “You ain't gotta be in jail to be doin' time.” He points out that imprisonment isn't just about being behind bars; people can still feel trapped by many aspects of their lives.
The prison experience is found not in the mere passage of time, nor even in the incarceration itself, but in the activities and routines — or lack thereof — that fill it. It's being stuck — the inability to move forward, the inability to change — that truly embodies the essence of “doing time.”
♾️ Timeless Place
In the depths of the Amazon rainforest lives a tribe unlike any other — the Amondawa. What sets them apart is their language, devoid of any words to denote time or its periods like “month” or “year.” In other words, they have no abstract concept of time. Instead, they mark life's milestones through changing names, reflecting different stages of existence and societal roles. This absence of temporal markers profoundly influences their daily interactions and worldview.1
In a world consumed by schedules and deadlines, the Amondawa offer a profound lesson in the art of living without the confines of time. Here I am, feeling managed by time, while this tribe exists free from it. They serve as a powerful reminder of the possibility of liberation when I relinquish our obsession with time.
🌊 Flow Is Dangerous
Then there’s the state of flow. Many believed it was the secret to painless productivity, myself included. When I’m in that state, time does not exist. As freeing as that sounds, it’s dangerous, especially in pursuit of self-improvement.
When I think of flow, I think of Bruce Lee’s “Be water my friend”. In the midst of combat, Lee seems to operate on instinct alone, every move a natural extension of his being. He enters a state of performance, the perfect breeding ground for flow.
But I bet he’s almost always not in this state. Achieving flow requires pushing through discomfort and pain2, forging new neural pathways in the brain, much like the process of habit formation. But as soon as it’s intact, it becomes flow.
To seek flow is to seek instinct — a mindless, timeless state. When I reach flow, it should just be a nod that I’ve practiced enough, primed to perform and grow.
Time should only serve as a cue, not a cage. Timelessness isn’t the solution; it’s merely a state — just a place, in fact. Flow represents merely a destination, for true growth lies in embracing discomfort and challenge.
Your Friend In Time,
Toffer
There is ongoing debate regarding whether this solely pertains to linguistic structures or if the Amondawa genuinely perceive time differently. Meanwhile, obtaining precise scientific insights into historical perceptions of time remains challenging, given that experiments in time perception have only been conducted over the past 150 years.
“It is clear that skilled individuals can sometimes experience highly enjoyable states (‘‘flow’’ as described by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, 1990) during their performance. These states are, however, incompatible with deliberate practice, in which individuals engage in a (typically planned) training activity aimed at reaching a level just beyond the currently attainable level of performance by engaging in full concentration, analysis after feedback, and repetitions with refinement.” — Anders Ericsson, Current Directions in Psychological Science