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DON'T FORGET TO FORGET your troubles once
in awhile. Methods to directly and methodically deal with your
problems are great, but sometimes what you need is to stop obsessing
about the problems and distract yourself. Get your mind off it.
Sometimes that's the fastest way to solve a problem.
Of course, you and I know if you've got
a serious problem, you have to think about it. You can't ignore
it. And you can't really deal with problems by trying to stop
thinking about them. But even with a serious problem it can still
help to take a break from thinking about it once in awhile. And
for a minor problem or an unsolvable problem, the real problem
is only that you keep thinking about it.
Entertainment — something that engages
your mind and preferably makes you laugh — takes your mind
off your problem. Sometimes a problem doesn't seem as much of
a problem when you come back to it after a pleasant break.
If you get a few laughs, it can have a
surprisingly helpful effect. Experimenters have found that people
are better at solving problems and demonstrate more creativity
after watching a funny movie. So again, even with a serious problem,
it is effective to take a break and have a few laughs because
you can come back to the problem with more ingenuity — a
greater ability to solve the problem.
As a bonus, it makes you healthier, which
also improves your ability to solve problems. When you're sick,
everything is more difficult, including solving problems. The
researcher Lee Berk, for example, examined people in a year-long
rehabilitation program for cardiac-disease patients. About half
of them received the standard therapy. The other half received
the standard therapy plus watched humorous videos that they selected
themselves for thirty minutes every day.
The patients who watched funny videos experienced
fewer symptoms related to their disease, such as arrhythmias.
Movies, music, performances, plays, etc.
— these are good ways to temporarily forget your troubles.
I don't recommend television because of the constant interruption
of commercials. They give you too much time to think. Movies
allow you to become engrossed in them and that's what we're looking
for: something engaging enough to take all your attention. Ideally
you would have an enjoyable period of time when you actually
forgot you had a problem. It gives your body a break and allows
you to look at the problem again from a fresh perspective and
in a better mood.
Use entertainment to take a
break
from your problem.
Watch a funny movie.
Listen to your favorite music.
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