Future Time Perspective and the Achievement of Optimal Best: Reflections, Conceptualizations, and Future Directions for Development

Abstract

Time is an interesting concept. For some cultural groups, time is an entity that exists only in the here and now, whereas for others it can be linear, emphasizing a person's past, present, and future. Many of us, while living in the "present moment," may also anticipate and project future goals, dreams, hopes, and ambitions. Indeed, from a positive point of view, future orientations are healthy and may direct one's focus, instill motivation and persistence, and mobilize the expenditure of effort. Existing research has provided empirical evidence to support the promotion and encouragement of a positive future time orientation. From an educational point of view, the study of time may be useful for calculating achievement, given that a student may use future time orientation to guide and direct his/her academic and/or non-academic future. One notable question for consideration, in this case, relates to the importance of timespan-that is, how far into the future should one project? There may be a significant difference between, say, a timespan that scopes a 6-month period as opposed to a timespan that scopes a 2-year period. By the same token, over the past few years we have delved into an interesting line of inquiry, namely, the nature of optimal best-for example, what facilitates and/or causes a person to achieve an optimal level of best practice in particular subject matter? Our theory of human optimization, consolidated and recently published in Frontiers in Psychology, provides an in-depth theoretical account of an underlying process, which we postulate could help explain the achievement of optimal best. Optimization, in this case, is intimately linked to a person's achievement of optimal best. We rationalize that within the context of academic learning, cognitive complexity of particular subject matter could serve as an important source of motivation in the anticipation and projection a student's extended future timespan. In this analysis, the extremely complex nature of a learning task or a suite of tasks may compel a student to consider a longer future timespan for successful completion. We also argue, in contrast, that the specific duration of a future timespan (for e.g., 6 months vs. 2 years) could play a significant role in the successful optimization of a student's state of cognitive functioning.

Advancing the Study of Positive Psychology: The Use of a Multifaceted Structure of Mindfulness for Development

“…Optimal functioning, or optimal best practice, is concerned with the maximization of a person's acquired knowledge, experience, and/or personal state of flourishing in a subject matter (e.g., feeling good about oneself) (Ngu et al, 2019). Over the past 5 years, we have made extensive theoretical, methodological, and empirical contributions to the study of optimal best practice, especially within the realm of academia (e.g., Ngu et al, 2019;Phan et al, 2019bPhan et al, , 2020b.…”

“…The relationship between L 1 and L 2, in its simplistic term, according to Phan et al's (2019b) recent study, is shown in (Phan et al, 2017(Phan et al, , 2019c, and a "state of flourishing" -in this case, defined as "a quantitative and qualitative difference between L 1 and L 2 [i.e., (L1−L2) ]." The theory of optimization (Phan et al, 2019c(Phan et al, , 2020b indicates that the achievement of L 2 from L 1 would require the activation and enactment of different types of educational (e.g., an appropriate instructional design: Ngu et al, 2018), psychological (e.g., belief of personal efficacy: Bandura, 1997), and psychosocial (e.g., the impact of the home environment: McCartney et al, 2007) agencies. Phan et al's (2019c) detailed proposition, interestingly, stipulated the positive effects of educational, psychological, and/or psychosocial agencies on the initiation of experience of "energy" (denoted as "E"), which would then activate the buoyancy of different psychological attributes (e.g., personal resolve).…”

“…Spirituality, from an Eastern perspective, may encompass the true meaning of the afterlife and, of course, other life-related aspects that cannot be accounted for by the laws of physical sciences. The physical world, for example, defines a linear time point: past, present, and future (Phan et al, 2020b). We think about the past, live in the present moment, and consider our future outlooks.…”

“…Phan et al's (2020b) recent article is significant as it introduces the concept of time (Frank, 1939;Lewin, 1942;Wallace, 1956;Nuttin, 1964;Mehta et al, 1972) and its potential association with the achievement and fulfillment of L 2 . In this analysis, Phan et al (2020b) contend that in order for one to achieve a state of flourishing, (L2−L1) , he/she would need to structure and have an appropriate future time point (e.g., 6 months). In other words, from the authors' rationale, achievement of L 2 from L 1 does not occur instantaneously but requires adequate time.…”

Introducing the Study of Life and Death Education to Support the Importance of Positive Psychology: An Integrated Model of Philosophical Beliefs, Religious Faith, and Spirituality

“…In a similar vein, of course, there are underlying operational mechanisms or principles (Tsai, 2008) that may contribute to assist and facilitate in the achievement of different life course trajectories. In the course of a person's life as a university student, say, he/she may rely on the process of optimization (Phan et al, 2017(Phan et al, , 2019a(Phan et al, , 2020b as an operational mechanism to assist with his/her schooling experiences. In a similar vein, another person's life trajectory as a senior citizen may consist of his/her social relatedness to others.…”