The Weekly Circle #25
Welcome to the twenty-fifth episode of The Weekly Circle! A free Circles in Time newsletter released every Sunday.
Hey everybody,
I am thinking a lot about time horizons at the moment, and our inherent ability to juggle multiple horizons with such ease.
We seamlessly move from the immediate to the distantly imagined, and back. A feat that separates us from the vast majority of the organisms we share this planet with. And like a muscle, the capability to stretch these horizons seems to strengthen and grow from generation to generation.
Yet, our ever enhancing ability to mentally ‘time travel’ isn’t what I am curious about at the moment—the implications for our wellbeing and happiness are.
My hunch is that one of the reasons many of us struggle to feel fulfilled on a continuous basis is that we must simultaneously satisfy our needs across all of these different time horizons.
Here is the way I am thinking about the different types of time horizons at the moment:
IMPULSE HORIZONS what you need now
These are the moment-to-moment needs that must be satisfied as they arise (e.g. breathing, blood pumping to our organs). We share these needs with many other living organisms.CIRCADIAN HORIZONS what you need today
These needs should be satisfied on a daily (24 hr) basis, such as sleep and food. Again, needs that surface here are shared by many other living organisms.INFRADIAN HORIZONS weekly, monthly, yearly needs
These are needs that should be perennially satisfied on a slightly longer horizon. They may be driven endogenously by our hormone cycles (e.g. menstrual cycle for women), through our activity (e.g. phases of restoration) or socially (.e.g. relation, ritual or ceremony).GENERATIONAL HORIZONS needs of the ‘self’
There are needs that are to be satisfied infrequently, perhaps only once over an individual’s life. Again they may be endogenously-driven tendencies (e.g. like the desire some of us have for children) or more culturally-adopted needs (e.g. career, marriage, play a role in one's community, etc.). This is where our social reality plays a bigger role, and where we depart from many of our close relatives in the animal kingdom.MULTIGENERATIONAL HORIZONS needs of the ‘other’
These are needs that are never fully met. The satisfaction arises from the meaningfulness associated with performing a role that contributes towards something that we expect to be fully realised in the distant future. The needs are cognitively constructed, existing purely in the social reality we have imagined within our own minds and between the minds of those around us. Importantly, this lack of groundedness in physical reality doesn’t make these needs any less necessary to satisfy.
This many-horizons model has helped me understand why people with excellent daily health complain about ‘something missing’ from their lives. Or those who are making dents in the universe with their purpose-driven non-profits still end up depressed and dissatisfied.
The ‘balance is key’ cliche may seem useful here, but it implies a trade-off between time horizons. I don’t think that’s necessary. Rather, we should be focusing on the alignment of our needs across different horizons as the key to stable fulfilment.
Just because our biological clocks are operating at different time scales doesn’t mean they can’t act in synchrony.
Like a good piece of music, our lives should have recurring kick drums, snares and hi-hats that show up continuously with predictable cadence. Melodies are layered on top of this cadence, some repeating, some only appearing once—all working in symphony to make the listener feel something meaningful. Something that stays with them long after the song has ended.
THE ESSENTIALS PROGRAMME
NEXT PROGRAMME STARTS ON 21 JAN | COST: $150 | LEARN MORE HERE
Key Details:
WHAT IS IT?
A timezone-friendly cohort-based online programme that runs over the course of 10 days. The programme includes two live workshops, exclusive templates, articles, tutorials, video lectures and direct personalised feedback.WHEN IS IT?
21 Jan - 30 January (+ a free months access to the Circles in Time Community starting on the 1st of February)WHO IS IT FOR?
Anyone interested in learning how to build personal systems informed by behavioural science, systems thinking and self-experimentation*.
*If you know anyone who may be interested in participating in the upcoming programme, I would really appreciate it if you were to share this link with them:
https://citbesci.substack.com/p/the-essentials-programme
WORLD VIEWS
THE IDEAS I CIRCLED AROUND THIS WEEK
WHAT MOST PEOPLE GET WRONG ABOUT WILLPOWER
“What we say to ourselves is vitally important. Labelling yourself as having poor self-control actually leads to less self-control. Rather than telling ourselves, we failed because we’re somehow deficient, we should offer self-compassion by speaking to ourselves with kindness when we experience setbacks.” (Essay)RYAN HOLIDAY’S WRITING STRATEGIES
10 lessons, the best selling author, Ryan Holiday, learnt, writing 10 books in 10 years. (Thread)THE OXYGEN ADVANTAGE
In thid book, Patrick Mckeown explores different breathing techniques and their impact on our health and performance. (Book)ANTI-AGING: STATE OF THE ART
“Aging is essentially damage accumulation that occurs as a by-product of metabolism and causes the diseases that kill most people today. This damage comes in 9 forms, which are the hallmarks of aging. Many therapeutic strategies show great promise in extending healthy human lifespan by reversing the damage accumulated with aging.” (Essay)
THE ETHICS OF LIFE EXTENSION
“While looking closely at each of the arguments against extending life, we couldn’t find a single reason not to treat diseases of aging like cancer, diabetes, or Alzheimers, let alone aging itself. In fact, we found far more reasons to further support ending the aging process altogether. If it can be done, it should be pursued.” (Essay)A SHORT & DANGEROUS INTRODUCTION TO RENE GIRARD
“Perhaps one of the paradoxical benefits of the internet, in the long term, is shifting the way we think about peer relationships from “opt-out”, which it’s been since pretty much forever, towards “opt-in.” (Essay)
WISE WORDS
THE QUOTES I CIRCLED AROUND THIS WEEK
"The task is ... not so much to see what no one has yet seen; but to think what nobody has yet thought, about that which everybody sees.” ~ Erwin Schrödinger
“I am not young enough to know everything.” ~ Oscar Wilde
“Worrying is like paying a debt you don’t owe.” ~ Mark Twain
“Surround yourself with people and groups whose default behavior is your goal behavior.” ~ Shane Parrish
“I have come to realize that much in the world tend to be correlated to how we see time - I.e what we prioritize and our horizon. Many things that appear illogical can make perfect sense if you understand how someone thinks about time.” ~ Daniel Ek
SOMETHING TO PART WITH
Allegory of Vanity, one of Antonio de Pereda’s most famous paintings, depicts several representations of the passage of time. These include a clock, an hourglass, old photographs, a blown out candle, skulls and a globe— an acknowledgement of time’s intimate relationship with our turning planet, circling slowly around our star.
The painting isn’t just about the various representations of time, but also how time slowly erodes everything we find meaningful. It is a powerful reminder of the ephemeral nature of things, and time’s persistent ability to reveal our vanity to us.
Until next week,
Take care,
David
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