How to Cheat Time, Live More, and Enhance Happiness

A few weeks ago, I posted an article about Minimalism. Although it was primarily about my experience with living with fewer material items and the sense of peace that comes from that, I forgot to mention how overcoming my “shiny object syndrome” has helped boost my sense of peace in life as well. Slipstream Time Hacking Book Review.

We all have this syndrome.

Living in the digital age makes people more susceptible to a condition called “shiny object syndrome”. This means that we’re easily persuaded by something new or attractive just out of curiosity. It doesn’t take much for us to be taken in, whether it’s clothing and gadgets, expensive jewelry, or even books and online courses.

The more we have, the more we want.

But think about it. Everytime you buy something new, it becomes part of your life. But it also takes up space and requires time to maintain. You might notice that every purchase begets a desire for another.

For me, it isn’t about the material things. I tend to chase goals after goals constantly — testing one idea to another as something interesting comes up.

I’m the type of person who gets excited about new ideas and immediately jumps into executing them, a characteristic that I think many people admire. But sometimes, this can be challenging for me when it comes to taking steps towards my long-term goals — like setting up a business or following through with an idea for the long-term.

One of the best examples can be seen as pursuing 10 goals all at once. I have my one ultimate goal, and then there are nine distractions that I pursue that cause delay from achieving that one ultimate goal.

Slipstream Time Hacking Book Review

Last month, I came across a book entitled “Slipstream Time Hacking” by Benjamin P. Hardy. At first, I was mind blown by how he started introducing The Theory of Relativity (Space-Time) by Albert Einstein. I admit it initially might not be an easy read for most people. But understanding the space-time theory is essential to unlocking the very concept of the book, which can be summarized as:

I’ve been working on overcoming my “shiny object syndrome” and have felt more at peace about the decisions I make without constantly wondering if there’s something better out there waiting to be discovered. This has also helped me become more grounded in reality because I’m not constantly distracting myself with thoughts of what could be. This book explains the same concept, which got me really hooked on it.

Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness

by Benjamin P. Hardy

Available in: Print Ebook Audiobook

It was a fascinating read that will help you learn how to work more efficiently and live your best life. Benjamin blends science with spirituality in an enlightening way that will help you understand the importance of mindfulness, focus, and living intentionally.

In the book, he talked about a slipstream. Slipstream is a science-fiction term describing an advanced form of transportation that enables people to travel across long distances in space much faster than they could otherwise – like hyperspace or warp speed. Others also coin this as a wormhole.

Moving fast and slowing time.

Let me take this statement once again:

The faster someone moves toward the desired destination, the slower time moves for them.

It’s pretty hard to grasp, I know. But to illustrate it, it’s like riding a high-speed train. For people who are watching the train from afar, it’s traveling so fast. But if you’re riding on that train, you’re going at the same speed as it is. You would barely even feel that it’s moving at all.

And because of the high-speed train, you’ve gone farther than those people who are traveling by foot, bike, or car. You just reached a distance which other people would take so much time to travel.

The high-speed train is like a slipstream.

When I saw this message from Elon Musk, I thought of the same slipstream idea:

More often than not, we surrender our own timelines based on what society tells us. But when you have a goal, you can dictate your own “deadline”. Say you’re 25 years old and you aim to build your own home when you’re 30. You have 5 years to achieve that goal.

But if you’re giving yourself one year to achieve that, a slipstream should help you reach your goal. With the use of the slipstream, you’ll be able to enjoy four years’ worth of what was otherwise had to be hustled for.

The concept of a slipstream aims to compress the highest quality and meaning of life into the time each person has to live. It’s like dying at 60 years old but living meaningfully for 100 years.

How I entered my own slipstream

Time flies, and it is already halfway through the year. The time may have passed by for most of us, but it feels like it barely moved an inch for me. Halfway through the year, and I have accomplished more than what would take me years to do. And it all happened without compromising my overall well-being as well as my personal relationships.

It’s obvious to me what slipstream I got myself into. It’s quitting my day job as a civil engineer. I have thought about it for years, but I only got the courage to finally do it at the start of the year.

I knew when I read the Slipstream Time Hacking book, it was the moment of clarity I’ve been waiting for. For years, quitting my engineering day job to pursue my true passion has felt like a scary decision. But after riding my own slipstream, everything seems possible to do in a short period.

How I view slipstreams

The book “Slipstream Time Hacking” theoretically explains slipstreams based on Einstein’s space-time theory. That in order to get from point A to B faster than average, space must be bent.

One way to imagine accelerated space-time is with a piece of paper and pencil. Fold the paper in half, then poke through the center with the pencil. You’ll end up with two holes – one on either side of the folded piece of paper. When you fold this paper, it becomes possible to slip through these holes, making the time and distance of travel much shorter.

In life, a slipstream can be summed up with displacement. Displacement is the quickest possible route between two points, like a shortcut.

Here’s a perfect illustration:

Distance (A-B-C) vs Displacement (A-C) by BYJUS

If your goal is to go from point A to C, you can go there quickly by traveling that straight path. But if you chose the other path, (A-B-C), you have to travel 2 meters more than the shortcut.

The difference between distance and displacement can represent the distinction between busyness and productivity. You may have a destination in mind, but what is really taking your time are those unnecessary things that you are convinced are essential. All thanks to the “shiny object syndrome”.

Taking the shortcut isn’t always that easy.

Sure, taking shortcuts may sound like the best path to take, but in reality, it’s not. Shortcuts usually have obstacles, for example:

• You may take a shortcut that leads to the wrong destination or somewhere dangerous.

• You might need more time and energy taking shortcuts because of all the extra work you’ll put in it, such as climbing walls, crossing over streams, etc.

One potential drawback with slipstreams is that, just like shortcuts themselves, they are not always good for you.

But if you can’t find a current path to your desired destination other than a slipstream, there’s no choice but to take a risk. And once you’ve jumped on that track, there’s no going back. You’ll either fail and get redirected onto another slipstream or persevere until you reach your destination.

This is what the famous world changers like Bil Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, and Elon Musk did.

However, fewer people are willing to change and enter a state of rapid slipstream as it often requires embracing difficult circumstances.

In such a difficult world, it is hard to be receptive and humble. But if you’re willing to embrace the most challenging circumstances that come your way, then success will not only follow but also reward those who have been loyal and patient with themselves.

Moving into a slipstream means healing myself from the shiny object syndrome.

Too many choices can leave one feeling stuck. It’s hard to know if the right choice has been made when surrounded by so many options. Slipstreams come in all sizes, they’re everywhere. But not every slipstream leads to where you want to go in life.

Moving into a particular slipstream and choosing to focus on it means healing myself from this shiny object syndrome. When I chose this current path, I blur out all the other enticing paths. And I’ve already reached the point of no return; either I will fail and hop into another slipstream or continue my ride until I get to my desired destination.

Final Thoughts

The Slipstream Time Hacking book tells us that the more we limit ourselves and our choices, the easier it becomes for us to be happier. It’s like applying a minimalist lifestyle when it comes to goals and life purpose. This is how we can cheat time, live more, and enhance happiness.

Don’t let excess overwhelm abundance; pickiness will lead to a better quality of life than excess ever could.

Want to read the book? You can get it on Amazon by clicking the links below.

Slipstream Time Hacking: How to Cheat Time, Live More, And Enhance Happiness

by Benjamin P. Hardy

Available in: Print Ebook Audiobook