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In old age, mindfulness can increase health by saving us from a diminishing sense of authorship of our stories. In a 1976 experiment by Langer and her colleagues, a number of elderly residents in a nursing home were given houseplants to look after and water. They were also encouraged to make decisions for themselves, such as where to receive
... See moreDerren Brown • Happy: Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine
He cites research by Harvard social psychologist Ellen Langer in her 2009 book Counterclockwise , that suggests that by creating a “reminiscence bump” for residents of their own past college experiences, university-based communities may even help to “reverse” ageing. “You are as young as you feel. If you put people in their past environments,” he... See more
Retirees this way: college life is no longer just for students
Those who had arrived using canes, and dependent on the help of their children, left the building under their own power and carrying their own suitcases. By expecting these men to function independently and engaging with them as individuals rather than “old people,” Langer and her students gave them “an opportunity to see themselves differently,”... See more
Benjamin Hardy • Personality Isn't Permanent
I don’t care that much about wrinkles and gray hair, I’m more worried about keeping my worldview flexible enough that when I’m older I don’t condescendingly tell young people to play by the rules that worked in my day, with no concern for whether or not those rules still apply.
– @lillydancyger
– @lillydancyger
Langer defines mindfulness as ‘the process of actively noticing new things’. Her 40-plus years of experimentation and research proves that being more mindful and noticing how you do things, the assumptions you have about yourself, the myths you tell yourself, what you might take for granted, and so on, is one of the most powerful things you can do
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