The football game that explains everything
It was a brisk fall day on November 23, 1951 when Dartmouth's football team played Princeton in a game that would go down in psychological history. In the second quarter, Princeton's quarterback, Dick Kazmaier, who had just appeared on the cover of Time magazine, left the game with a broken nose. Later, a Dartmouth player was taken off the field with a broken leg. Clearly this was a rough game, but what made it truly remarkable was the way each side characterized the other after it was all over. It was as if Dartmouth fans saw one version of the game in which Princeton was the instigator, and Princeton fans saw another that put the blame squarely on Dartmouth for the violence. A famous study entitled “They Saw a Game,” in which undergrads from Princeton and Dartmouth were shown film of the infamous football game, confirmed that the two sides experienced the match in entirely different ways. You may be wondering how two people can watch the same political debate and have vastly different opinions about what happened and who was victorious. Look no further than Princeton versus Dartmouth. We react to an event according to the unique qualities we bring to it–our identity as members of a team or tribe or political party, our history, and our interest in the outcome–and this shades what we see and what we choose to not to see. In the midst of an American election unlike any other, it's important to take a step back and notice how it may be affecting us, for better or worse, and what we can do about it. Whatever your political affiliation, the 5-Minute Recharge is here with evidence-based wellness strategies, tips, and encouragement to navigate the week ahead and beyond. Let's get started!
ONE THANKFUL QUOTE
“Thanks for making my vote count.” – A note Virginia election officials found with a mail-in ballot
ONE UPBEAT IMAGE
Early voters in Philadelphia demonstrate the best way to wait in a voting line. Dance!
THREE IDEAS
#1 TOO MUCH POLITICS WILL MAKE YOU UNHAPPY The 1968 debate between William F. Buckley, Jr. and Gore Vidal was supposed to be an example of how a highbrow Republican and an equally Niles Crane-ish Democrat could have a civil discussion in the midst of a year of political and social upheaval, but it degenerated into name calling, threats of physical violence, and defamation suits. Buckley is said to have returned to his dressing room after his nasty exchange with Gore Vidal in a state of despair, and would surely not be surprised to learn that research has found that an obsession with politics is associated with unhappiness. Researcher Arthur Brooks analyzed responses to the 2014 General Social Survey and found that people who are “very interested” in politics are 8 percent likelier to be “not very happy about life” than those who are “not very interested” in politics. Brooks blames politics' negative effect on relationships for making us unhappy. Relationships are a key ingredient in happiness, yet after the last presidential election in 2016, a Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 1 out of 6 Americans stopped talking to a close friend or family member because of differing political views. To limit the negative effect of politics, Arthur Brooks encourages us to get out in the community and help other people, ration our news consumption, and to try not to talk politics with others.
“If you want more happiness, you need more love.” – Arthur Brooks, from the Art of Happiness podcast “Politics and Unhappiness”
#2 THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON POLITICS Although you probably can't tell the difference between the contents of a Trump supporter's fridge and the contents of a Biden supporter's fridge, MRI imaging shows that liberal and conservative brains are different in striking ways. The brain volume making up the anterior cingulate cortex, an area that helps detect errors and resolve conflicts, tends to be larger in liberals. Conservatives have a larger amygdala, which is important for regulating emotions and evaluating threats. It makes sense that repeatedly feeding yourself the same political rhetoric over and over can rewire your brain in a way that makes you value stability, predictability, and authority (conservative) or novelty, nuance, and complexity (liberal). The good news is that, although changing political beliefs at a deep level may not be possible, making an effort to understand where people on the other side of the political spectrum are coming from and what makes them behave as they do is possible and is the first step in dismantling toxic partisanship.
“If we understand what is at work cognitively, we might be able to intervene and try to ease some of the negative effects of partisanship.” – Lydia Denworth, Scientific American
#3 TAKE A DOSE OF VITAMIN E Vitamin E is equanimity, the frame of mind that can hold onto everything, without grasping or pushing away. Equanimity can handle a pandemic or even the election loss of your preferred political candidate. Buddhist teacher Roshi Joan Halifax refers to equanimity as having “a strong back and soft front,” a metaphor for the internal state that enables us to hold ourselves upright in the midst of any conditions while remaining open, present, and flexible. A key element in maintaining election sanity, equanimity will enable you to stay on an even emotional keel, whether your candidate wins or loses. If you're not sure you're up to the task and need a quick hit of Vitamin E, check out this week's 5-Minute Recharge Challenge.
“The biggest realization is that we are not separate.” – Roshi Joan Halifax, Ten Percent Happier podcast “Vitamin E: How to Cultivate Equanimity Amidst Political Chaos”
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THE FAST FIVE
1. How to Thrive When Everything Feels Terrible - Harvard Business Review (Choose growing, developing and energized over stagnated and depleted.)
2. Three ideas for how to live a fuller life - BBC.com (Invite yourself to the dinner party of the afterlife.)
3. The health secrets of people who got much fitter in lockdown - The Guardian (For some, the lockdown was the trigger for new, healthier routines. )
4. From Ice Swims to Knitting: Europeans seek ways to ride out Covid winter - The Guardian (I'm choosing Adwaspaglüh, the hot mulled wine walk, over the ice swim.)
5. It's not that you don't care. You're mentally exhausted. - Fast Company (Four signs you're mentally exhausted, and four things you can do about it.)
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YOUR 5-MINUTE RECHARGE CHALLENGE: A DUCK MEDITATION
This week's 5-Minute Recharge Challenge is one of the easiest challenges we've ever offered–you have enough to handle right now– and comes to us from meditation teacher Tara Brach.
Simply read this poem (you get bonus points for reading it aloud):
This poem captures the spirit of equanimity which is the acknowledgment that life is a series of changing currents that we can either fight (not a good idea) or ride like a duck (with equanimity). The duck doesn't take the swells of the ocean (or a pandemic, or the outcome of an election) personally, and is content to rest in the present moment, part of something vast and unknowable.
If you can spare another 25 minutes and would like more details on how to experience equanimity, check out this equanimous Tara Brach video.
“The power of equanimity in the world is that it lets us respond with intelligence and love, rather than continuing the cycles of fear and hatred.” – Tara Brach
Thanks for reading. See you next week!
Lynne