But if you’re not careful, you’re free to get stuck reminiscing instead of moving forward.
My colleagues and I explored this question by asking participants to write at length about an experience of nostalgia.
Trained coders then analyzed these nostalgic narratives.
Basically, nostalgia is an emotion we all experience, probably countless times a week.
All that said, it depends on what types of memories you’re conjuring up and when.
Nostalgia’s great for certain momentsespecially when you’re bringing up positive memories.
But it needn’t be that way.
“It’s what you focus on,” says Lyubomirsky.
“Do you focus on how positive it was then, or that it’s over now?”
People who see each good experience as permanently enriching are more likely to get a mood boost.
Focus on the positivity of a moment instead of feeling about how you’ll never feel that way again.
It’s also about thethingswe used to love.
That’s fine, and great for a night of reveling in the past.
Taken too far though, there’s a danger of getting stuck there.
In short, our memories tend to get tied to music in two ways.
Left unchecked, this can prevent you from exploring new things.
When you’re revisiting your past to avoid the present, you’re not forming new experiences.
That’s a problem.
As we know, newexperiences are importantand keeping things fresh isgood for the brain.
The inherent danger of nostalgia comes from a refusal to move onto new things.
After all, why watch new movies when the ’80s clearly had all the best films?
Why go to new restaurants when the old ones have the perfect menu?
“We call this anticipatory nostalgia and have even started a line of relevant research.”
Photos byNomad Tales,Panayotis,Kenny Louie.
