Psych Study on Letting Things Go–Scientific Validity of Bottle Rocket? – From The Mind of McFarland music blog.
A few nights ago, I received a phone call from my father – not an entirely infrequent event, but calls from my parents are usually with a specific purpose, and not just of the “hey, I’d like to chat!” variety. So even though I was in the middle of the latest episode of Revolution (the midseason finale was fantastic, in case you haven’t been watching – the series is finally getting interesting!) I took the call. The conversation began with words that I frequently use: “So I was listening to NPR earlier…” He proceeded to tell me that he had been tuned into a Canadian public radio news show (“The one with all the puns?” “No.” “So it was Here & Now, not As It Happens”), and they were discussing a recent psych study published online in the journal Psychological Science.
The study revolved around the idea of letting things go, by mentally “tagging” them as worthy of holding on to, or worthy to be relinquished. You can read the full press release here, but here’s the short version. Students participated in a study where they were placed in three groups and told to write down thoughts, positive or negative, they had about a subject – in one instance it was about body image, another about a certain diet. The first group was then instructed to fold up what they wrote, put it in their wallet, and take it with them. The second group in the psych study was instructed to leave the paper on the desk. The third group was instructed to crumple up the paper and put it in the trash.
When later asked to give their thoughts about the subject again, the ones who had kept the paper in their wallet held strongly to the thoughts they put on the page. The ones who threw the paper away were unaffected by what they had written – as if they could mentally “start fresh” with a new set of thoughts on the matter.
For those of you who have seen my Bottle Rocket music video – an exercise in letting things go, in letting the past go, through the use of mildly illegal explosives – the relevance of this psych study should be obvious. What began in a fit of inspiration on December 31, 2010 now seems to have some scientific validity. And if letting go of the past by crumpling up a piece of paper and throwing it away is effective, how much more effective must it be to do so by watching those thoughts explode in a flash of light?
-MMcF
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Unleaded rhythmic alt-pop fuels singer/songwriter and two-wheel troubadour Michael McFarland’s engine. Michael McFarland in the simplest summary? Writer, Rocker, Biker, Geek.
For Michael’s Music, Cd’s, Downloads, Merchandise, live show schedule, music blogs, music videos, and everything else you want to know about McFarland, visit the Michael McFarland Website at http://michaelmcfmusic.com/
