You can tell someone’s age by how much they think about the future or the past.
I’ve noticed that teenagers and people in their twenties talk about the future as if there is a lot of time ahead of them. They have post-secondary education goals, first career-related job discussions, and first romantic relationships. They ask questions such as: How do I start my career? How do I know if he likes me? How do I know if she’s my future spouse? Where should I travel? The world seems new and they want to try things out and explore it. Sometimes they act like they are invincible. They have memories of childhood, school, and first-time life experiences.
People who have reached middle age seem to talk equally about the future and the past. They realize they shouldn’t waste what time they have left. Either they are at the peak of their career and financial stability or they plan to get there soon. Their children are grown or will be grown. They are thinking about retirement plans. Fighting the aging process themselves while taking care of aging parents. Behind them, they have more memories and years than they did in their twenties. They remember friendships and romances that didn’t work out. They’ve been to weddings and funerals. They fondly remember what it was like to be young and invincible back when they didn’t hear of so many tragedies. Most importantly, they feel empowered by their life experience.
Seniors talk about the past a lot. They reminisce about how life used to be, how much things used to cost, and all the wonderful memories of the people they had known and the places they had been over the years. Their memories are like a finished book that they can open and read. They value the preciousness of time because the chances they had to accomplish what they could are mostly behind them. Seniors in their 90s and 100s value each additional morning because they don’t know how many more of them they have remaining.
So to return to the question, “Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past?” I think it depends on the individual, but certainly, your age affects how long the path stretches ahead of you and how far it goes behind you.
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