To Make it Through Covid, Start Looking Forward

Want to be more positive? Start looking forward

If there’s one thing I love about this time of year, it’s the hope that comes with a fresh start. Even the often cynical and negative news cycle gets a positivity boost in December and January. There’s been a flurry of articles (see here and here) on how to have a more hopeful and positive year – given that 2020 was a sh*tshow – and now new research from the University of Surrey shows that there is power in having hope and looking forward.

In the study, which was published in the Journal of Positive Psychology, participants were surveyed and then randomly assigned to one of four groups. Group one completed interventions focused on nostalgia (looking at the past). Group two focused on gratitude (looking at the present). The third group focused on their best possible self (looking to the future). Following the intervention, each participant was measured on their wellbeing and positive feelings.

Results showed that the group who focused on the future (group three) had higher positive feelings. Groups two and three also had higher social connectedness than the nostalgia group (group one). The researchers concluded that focusing on the present or future during lockdown is more effective for wellbeing than focusing on the past, which alongside trait characteristics predict well-being under lockdown. As for those traits that amplified the effects of looking forward, the researchers noted that those people who had better relationships, greater emotion regulation, and more social interactions were faring better in lockdown.

So why not gift yourself some hope this new year? Here’s how to easily look forward.

Book a holiday

To start with, it’s important to be realistic about what’s doable in the middle of a volatile COVID-19 environment. My advice: don’t go booking overseas holidays or even interstate holidays. Instead, look for some natural wonders or unvisited cities or towns a bit closer to home and plan to visit and explore the area.

Make sure when you’re planning you next holiday that you enjoy the planning period too. Research shows that biggest boost in your happiness can come not from the vacation itself, but from the act of planning the vacation!

Plan a get together

Whether you plan to have a special family dinner or invite friends over for a board game (within any local lockdown rules of course), you will benefit from planning an evening and you’ll benefit from the social contact.

Researchers have found that having a family meal benefits your kids’ mental and physical health. And if you have a games night, don’t forget to let lose and have a laugh at yourself. Studies show people who make fun of themselves are in fact happier and better socially adjusted – which were some of the characteristics that predicted wellbeing during lockdown!

Get out into nature

Researchers have found that simply going for a leisurely walk can improve mood and boost subjective well-being, particularly for adults who are normally sedentary. Plus, you’ll get the added benefit of being outside in nature, which has also been shown to help people feel better.

So why not plan to go for a trip somewhere new and hike in the mountains or a walk along the beach this weekend?

Don’t’ forget once you’ve planned your activities and completed them to make sure you have other activities lines up that you can continue to look forward to! In fact, that’s a new year’s resolution I can get behind, always having something in my diary to look forward to, and if not, get to planning something!

Want to learn more about the science of happiness and how to be more positive? Make sure to subscribe to my podcast Happiness for Cynics and my email newsletter for regular updates & resilience resources!