Do you remember being alone and feeling that time has stopped? Do you remember how you felt when you played with your friends and time passed far too quickly? I have felt both and it made me curious.
So I started to explore what was behind these feelings. As part of my research, I consulted Eleonora Gousiari, a psychologist, who answered my questions.
As far as she is concerned, human beings are social animals who desire to belong to a group, because this is what makes them feel safe. No one wants to feel excluded, which is why you feel that time stands still when you are alone. And when you are with friends, you either feel that time passes quickly, or you don’t think of time at all.
When you are having fun or doing things you enjoy with your friends, your brain releases a hormone called dopamine, one of many hormones produced in the brain. Dopamine is responsible for the feeling of pleasure and also for the feeling that time passes quickly. As I said, the brain manufactures other hormones, some of which help you forget sadness or any difficult situations that you have experienced in the past.
Friends are very important, maybe one of the most important things in life. Of course, we have to be careful whom we chose as friends. We need to find friends whom we love and with whom we can share our joys; friends who we consider fair and sincere. It doesn’t matter if they are few in number because it is the quality rather than the quantity that counts. You really don’t need to go along with the majority and agree on everything. You should chose people who are honest and just, and you should use both your heart and mind when you decide. At least one of the two should agree with your decision.
There have been many people in this world that I have considered great, even though they belonged to a minority, because they didn’t care what the majority thought. They listened to the voice of their conscience, which urged them to do what they considered to be right. One such example is Mohammed Ali, who refused to fight in Vietnam, even though the American nation compelled him to.
Then there is Charlie Chaplin, who was against racism, injustice and capitalism. He took a stand against the German dictator Hitler, even though at the time America and Germany were not enemies. Not only was Chaplin anti-Hitler, but he made a comic film that made fun of him.
Don’t keep company with people who want you to forget your dreams. They ask this because they have no dreams of their own. They want you to smoke, take drugs, or mock others, because they are failures. They want to ruin your life because their own has been ruined. Keep company with people who will help you and support you in the realisation of your dreams, people who want to soar to great heights with you at their side.
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