Mental Time Travel
Escape a rumination loop by visiting your past resilience and your future perspective.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 3
- Confidence
- 88%
Mental time travel uses the brain's ability to move through time to break rumination loops. Travel backward to recall moments you showed more resilience than you expected, borrowing confidence for the present. Travel forward to remember the situation is transient — asking how much it'll matter in 5 days, 5 years, or 15 years. Both moves breed psychological distance, which is what loosens the spiral's grip.
Origin
A self-described 'professional ruminator,' Shankar developed this as a go-to from the science of psychological distancing, using it on everything from awkward coworker exchanges to major setbacks.
Core principles
- 01The brain can move backward and forward in time — a tool against mental spirals.
- 02Traveling backward reminds you of past instances where you were more resilient than you thought.
- 03Traveling forward reminds you the current situation is transient.
- 04Both create psychological distance, which is the goal.
How to run it
- 1
Catch the loop
Recognize when you're cycling the same negative thoughts about a setback.
- 2
Travel backward
Recall past adversities where you were more resilient than you gave yourself credit for.
Pro tip This brings much-needed confidence in the moment.
- 3
Travel forward
Ask how you'll feel about this in 5 days, 5 years, 15 years — likely far less significant, maybe even a blessing.
Pro tip The coworker you're embarrassed in front of may not even be your coworker in five years.
In the wild
Hala tied her identity to 'Holla from Hot 97,' then was fired when she asked to be paid. Viewed 15 years later, that firing was a blessing in disguise that unlocked her strengths and led her to build a near-eight-figure business.
→ Future perspective reframed a devastating loss as the redirection that made her career.
Common mistakes
Only traveling one direction
Backward gives confidence and forward gives transience; using only one misses half the distancing effect.
Is it for you?
Best for
Chronic ruminators fixating on a recent loss or embarrassment.
Not ideal for
Problems requiring action in the present rather than reframing.
From the transcript
“our brains have this remarkable ability to move forward in time and backward in time. And we can use this to our advantage when we…”
“how am I going to feel about the same situation 5 days from now, 5 years from now, 15 years from now”
From the episode
Dr. Maya Shankar: The Science of Decision Making
Dr. Maya Shankar