Recapping yesterday’s awesomeness

Yesterday we launched Time Travel Week by pointing out that science fiction knows what we’ve all forgotten: that on one level time travel is not only possible, but normal. Our minds wander from past, to present, to future, and back again a thousand times per day.

These epic movies have also taught us that time travel is not the kind of thing a person should do without some kind of skill or special knowledge. Botch a time travel excursion and you could return to the present moment to find it irrevocably changed or transformed into a barren wasteland.

Nasty.

We also piggy-backed the hard work of Harvard smarty pants Matthew Killingsworth, who’s extensive research discovered that the average person spends nearly fifty percent of their waking hours thinking about doing something other than what they’re currently doing, somewhere other than where they currently are.

Time traveling.

The scary part?

He also found a direct correlation between all this “time travel” and our experience of happiness. As in, the more my mind wanders away from the present moment, the less happy I am. Time travel, it turns out, can be hazardous to my joy. And usually is.

Why would that be? I’ll get to that tomorrow.

The Five Indispensable Axioms of Time Travel

After ingesting a virtual bevy of time travel stories, I’ve finally done it—identified the Five Indispensable Axioms of Time Travel—principles that ring true of our time travels both in and out of science fiction. Because remember—on this score, sci-fi mirrors the way life really works.

Cooler still, the Five Indispensable Axioms of Time Travel create an acronym that isn’t lame:

F.I.A.T.T.

The dictionary defines fiat as a divine edict or order. Which is what we need—to speak some powerful order into our time travelling chaos. The five axioms give us power to live by fiat, to resonate with the divine order written into the universe.

Live by fiat, and you become a kind of time lord (although possessing a beautiful sidekick and a sonic screwdriver are optional. Either way, it’s cool).

Here are the axioms:

1. Always time travel on purpose.

2. Always time travel for the right reasons.

3. Be careful about your souvenirs.

4. Choose your guides wisely.

5. Don’t get stuck in the wrong time.

Seriously, these babies are gonna change your life.

Starting tomorrow, as I unpack the first three axioms. 

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