In the last three months, I’ve changed more than I thought possible. I’ve unlocked thoughts, strategies, well-being. And I asked myself, even on objectively complex days: “But is this plausible in such a short time? Am I delusional?”
By my nature, I started reading, studying, and thinking. And I found the answer in an unexpected place: physics.
The physics of time
Richard Feynman’s book on physics lectures is wonderful. Suitable even for those who don’t know the subject, it opens the mind. Quantum physics, in its complexity and granularity, moves you.
And it’s there that I began to realize, with scientific confirmation, something fundamental: the physical timeline flows in only one direction. Today we know it’s irreversible. It only moves forward. It doesn’t go back.
The time we measure is based on particle oscillations that determine the minimal unit from which seconds, minutes, hours derive. It’s objective. It’s measurable. It’s beyond our control.
The three levels of time
But time is not just physical. There are three levels we must distinguish:
Physical time: It advances. Period. Irreversible and inexorable.
Biological time: This also advances, but how depends on us. Being 43 years old doesn’t mean we all have the same biological situation. We see this by observing people around us: those who live differently age differently.
Perceptual time: And this is where everything changes. This is where we can shape time to our will, without affecting the physical timeline.
Metacognition and perceptual time
The work I’ve done with metacognition, if I looked at it with yesterday’s eyes, would make me exclaim: “Impossible in such a short time.” But observing it with today’s eyes, I answer: “Absolutely and scientifically plausible.”
These are mental processes. Metacognition, by its nature, tends to amplify them with an exponential curve. And mental processes operate on perceptual time, not physical time.
In one hour of metacognition you can do mental work that would normally take months. It’s cognitive temporal compression. Not magic. Mechanics of the mind.
Three months can be worth years of growth. Not because physical time accelerates, but because the density of mental processing compresses.
Don’t be afraid to dare
Remembering this distinction can help us not give up and dare to do many of the things we want.
Because if we observe with pragmatism, we understand where:
- The physical line advances anyway (and we can’t stop it)
- The biological line we can manage (lifestyle, care)
- The perceptual line we can shape (metacognition, awareness)
And here patience comes back into play. Not as passive waiting, but as a strategic ally. As I told you in the second post, patience is a vehicle. And now I add: a vehicle that operates on perceptual time.
You don’t need haste (physical time goes on its own). You don’t need fear (perceptual time is yours). You need awareness (knowing which time you’re working on).
Sometimes things can have different nuances than we imagine. Time is one of these.
And the next step
Next time I’ll tell you about the concept of acceptance. A word with very interesting nuances, different from what I imagined. Because accepting physical time (irreversible) is different from accepting perceptual time (shapeable). And this distinction changes everything.
Three months or three years? It depends on which time you’re measuring.