The sense of the acceleration of time in old age is due to the lack of authentic events we experience
If you ask a great person about his most powerful memories, there is a high probability that many of those memories will come from the time period between the ages of 15 and 30 years.
This is the time period in which six out of ten important events occur in a person's history, according to a 2004 study, such as beginning school, going to college or university, getting first job, love, marriage, having children.
Psychologists call this phenomenon "shocking memories," and it helps explain why our early years seem much more memorable than the memories of life after the 1930s.
"The key to shocking memories is their originality," says Claudia Hammond in her book Time Folding. The reason we remember our youth is that it is the first time of everything: the first job, the first non-parent travel, the first experience of living away from home, the first experience Love, and "the first time we have a real choice about how we spend our days."
When these events run out, our lives will seem to accelerate, according to Chip and Dan Heath, the authors of "The Power of Moments: Why Experiences Have Extraordinary Influences."
But although it may be somewhat frustrating to realize that most of our best memories have been left behind - according to the authors - it is important to put this feeling in context.
"It would be very easy to create second traumatic memories later in life. For example, divorce from a life partner, leaving work, or moving to another country will create many authentic moments that will generate new memories," the authors say.
The authors, however, should not confuse memories with wisdom. In other words, your life should be old with new memories but without extra enthusiasm; diversity is the seasoning of life, not its main dish, according to them.
