The timeline: a tool for self-knowledge

We are rarely aware of our subjective conception of time, but it is always at work. It is essential for us to build and give coherence to our identity, our life story, and to project our own future. Discovering how we represent time on a mental level allows us to heal the past and reduce uncertainty. regarding the future; and, for this, the timeline is a powerful tool.

When you remember your first day of school, you are not only certain that it did indeed happen; You also know that that event is no longer taking place in the present. Likewise, when you imagine yourself five years from now, you are aware that that reality is yet to come.

What is the timeline?

The timeline It is a technique very frequently used in neurolinguistic programming. If you have never heard of this approach to personal development, you should know that its objective is to help the person reprogram those beliefs and behaviors that are dysfunctional.

In this case, the timeline is a resource to explore what types of events, ideas, and limitations are preventing the person from moving forward satisfactorily.

Let us remember that our way of thinking, feeling and acting has not emerged from nowhere but is, to a large extent, the result of past learning. What you experienced, and how you continue to process it today, influences your attitudes and decisions present and in your conception of the future.

Thus, the timeline allows you to access that information that continues to act unconsciously and modify it if necessary. For example, it can help you reduce the intensity of the pain associated with a negative memory.

What does your timeline look like?

It is important to emphasize that With this tool, the person’s timeline is not created, but rather it is discovered.. That is, this temporal conception is already ingrained in you and you use it to organize your experiences, like the board that many offices have to arrange pending tasks over time.

With this technique we hope that you can become more aware of it. Thus, in order not to interfere with your experience, before continuing reading, we are going to ask you to perform the following steps:

Close your eyes and imagine having breakfast. Observe the elements, the colors, perceive the sounds and smells… Immerse yourself in this image. Now, Think about yourself having breakfast five years ago.. Where in space would you place that scene? That is, on the physical plane, where is that image placed in relation to you? Continue. Imagine having breakfast three years ago, six months ago, yesterday… and see where you perceive those scenes. Now, do the same with the future. Think about yourself having breakfast tomorrow, in two months, in four years… What position do these images occupy in physical space?

The main types of timelines

Although each person is different, The previous exercise usually yields two typical results for most individuals. Depending on how they place and spatially organize the scenes, we can describe two types of timelines:

Through time: in this case the person perceives their timeline as an external observer. The present is in front, the past to the left and as we move to the right we enter the future. In time: these people have the perception that their timeline passes through them. In this way, your own body reflects the present, while the past is placed behind and the future is placed in front of them.

How to work with this tool?

This is a self-discovery tool, so the results of the previous exercise can help you get to know yourself better and determine your unconscious tendencies.

For example, people who arrange their line “through time” are more reflectiveand they are better able to think with perspective about their past and their future. On the contrary, those who perceive it “in time” are more likely to live in the present and it may be difficult for them to distance themselves from events and be objective when judging them.

But also, You can detect other problems by analyzing your timeline. For example:

Yeah the past is too close to you in spatial perspective While the future is very far away, you may have to work on certain events that were left unprocessed and still intrusive. Not only can the position of events on the timeline give us clues, but we can use all the nuances. For example, yes the past or the future is perceived as dark, opaque, gloomy and without shine they will have to be worked on. Some previous event may continue to hurt deeply or the future may seem bleak. If you are unable to project the future clearlyyou can work on setting goals and modifying that perception of uncertainty in a way that helps you continue forward with enthusiasm and purpose.

In short, this is a simple, fast and effective method to internally affect the past, present and future, so that these changes are reflected in your attitude and reality. Any anomaly in the spatio-temporal arrangement of the images can be a good starting point to go deeper and work.

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