Time Line

Introduction
Being humans we store experience with time in the space around us. Memories are then arranged in pattern forming
a spatial map. If you were asked to point to a certain past memory in the space around you, where would you point?
Similarly, if you were to asked
ked to point to something that you are planning to do in the future, where would you
point? Similarly, where would you point the present? Now if you draw a line connecting all the points (events along
the time, i.e past, present and future) then outcome is that you have created your time line.
Time Line is broadly classified as In Time and Through Time based on if you are associated with the time line or
dissociated with the time line.

In Time
If the time line runs through the body then the person is said tto
o be In Time person. For In Time people generally, the
past is behind the back and future is in front. However, to make the definition even more broad, if the time line is not
straight line but a curve and the curve is passing through the body then the per
person
son is In Time. In short, if the time line
passes through the body or if the person is associated with the time then the person is In Time.
Certain qualities of In Time People:

Efficient at multi tasking

Engrossed in the present
Feel emotions strongly

I walk the time line. I think of past as

something that is left behind the back. I think
of future that is something ahead of me. Time
passes through me. I am living the present and
very much associated with occurrence of
events along the time.

PAST

FUTURE

PRESENT

1 | Time Line

Time Line
Through Time
If the time line runs in front of the body then the person is said to be Through Time person. For Through Time people
generally, the past and future are sideways
sideways.. However, to make the definition even more broad, if the time line is not
straight line but a curve and the curve is passing in front of the body then the person is Through Time. In short, if the
time line passes in front of the body or if the person is dissociated with the time then the person is Through Time.
Certain qualities of Through Time People:

Efficient at planning
Difficult to live in the present
Feel emotions weekly
Punctual with appointments

I see the time line in front. I think of past

and future as something that falls on
either of my sides. Time passes in front of
me. I see present here right in front. I am
dissociated with occurrence of events
along with the time.

PAST

FUTURE

PRESENT

What is My Time Line

The following exercise helps you to indentify the time line:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Think of the event that you experienced recently. Point to the event in the space around you.
Now think of your present, point towards it.
Point towards an event tha
that you are going to experience in future.
Now draw a line connecting the points. The line / curve is your time line.

Note that if the line/curve is passing through your body then the person is In Time. If the line/curve is passing
sideways or in front of you then you are Through Time person.
Note: Try to select the event that you are mostly dissociated with. Associated events will always get you inside the
situation hence can be misleading. Its more important to do the exercise in dissociated mode.

2 | Time Line

Time Line
Dumping
Dumping is the process to mine the thoughts. During dumping, you relax yourself and without being judgmental and
analytical you pen down every thought . Essentially you are vomiting every single thought on the paper without
judging or assessing its feasibility to manifest.
Dumping has particular significance in NLP, as it helps to identify the needs/wishes and set the goals. It can further
help to identify is we are wishful or committed to the outcome. But essentially, the main purpose of the dumping
process is to get all the thoughts out in the raw form so that it can be processed further (based on individuals need
and commitment).

Shuffling Time Line

Every person is unique and hence has unique time line in that moment. Just because an individual has been classified
as In Time does not mean that the person would be In Time throughout its life. Some people can even switch between
the time lines. At one point they may exhibit the In Time behavior while at some other moment they might portray
Through Time behavior. This is known as shuffling Time Line.
Shuffling Time Line is important if you want to overcome the limitations that you may be experiencing due to sticking
to either of one time line. Each time line has its own features and individual sticking to that particular time will be
experiencing those features. However, there might be situation demanding opposite behavior. In that case, it makes
sense to consciously exhibit and switch to another time line, thus smartly and consciously overcoming the
shortcomings.
To clarify, say if you are In Time person and love to multi task, however you get so much immersed in the task at hand
that you lose sense of time and it takes toll on some other task at hand. Then , try to consciously shift your time line to
through time. This can be done by consciously visualizing how the tasks are aligned in front of you and along the time.

Time Chunking
Now as we are aware of the fact that as humans we represent the time in space around us. To demonstrate, you can
demonstrate by hands how much an hour or a day quantifies in size. If you are thinking of event that has many tasks to
cover in duration then you will represent the duration (chunk) with shorter size compared to event that has same
duration of time but where you think you have more than enough time.

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