The Weather is Always Nice

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We are raised to believe that there is “good weather” and “bad weather.” So we learn to say 80 degrees and balmy is good, and 33 degrees and rainy is bad.  Above 90 degrees is “miserably hot,” below 20 degrees is “freezing cold,” and what we are experiencing now with the polar vortex is just plain awful.

Yet what if we were to drop the designations of positive and negative, and just accept that the weather is simply weather; constantly changing, oft times challenging, and always interesting!

Sometimes when the weather seems ungodly, it is a fine exercise for to run out the door and experience the truth of it.  Bitter winds, jaw-dropping temperatures, the works. If the spirit moves you, scream and howl and let your body awaken to it.  Feel the truth in your body, not what the 5-day forecast is telling you. You will almost immediately discover that the weather may not be bad at all — but is actually quite stimulating.*

On the flip side, severe weather can remind us that the world is made up of forces bigger than we are, which makes our issues feel minor in comparison. Plus, there’s less social pressure to get together with others, which means you won’t have to make small talk about “how f-ing cold it is” or hear about your neighbor’s latest trip to Florida “where it was sunny and 85 degrees.”  Better to hunker down with a good read and a mug of soothing tea. How about Nikolai Gogol’s “The Overcoat“?

*It’s also recommended to take your camera with you, for as the professionals say, “Bad weather makes good photographs.”

Embracing the Batman Effect

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Need a boost to get you through your next deadline? The Batman Effect is a psychological phenomenon identified through research conducted by Rachel White and her colleagues at the University of Washington. The term comes from a study published in 2016 in the journal Child Development. The Batman Effect suggests that children can improve their perseverance and focus on a task by pretending to be a strong, competent character like Batman.

Researchers asked 4 and 6-year-old children to perform a repetitive task for 10 minutes. Some children were told to think about their thoughts and feelings while working (self-immersed), others were told to think about themselves from an outside perspective (self-distanced), and a third group was told to pretend they were Batman (exemplar condition).

Children who pretended to be Batman worked longer and more diligently than those in the other conditions. They exhibited better perseverance and self-control. By taking on the persona of Batman, children created psychological distance from their own limitations and frustrations. This allowed them to view their task from a more capable perspective. This effect suggests that role-play and imagination can be powerful tools for improving focus, self-control, and perseverance, not just in children but potentially in adults as well. The study highlights the potential benefits of self-distancing strategies in emotional and behavioral regulation.