Sarah Boesveld
From Thursday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Tuesday, Mar. 31, 2009 08:22PM EDT
It may be time to shake the dust off that old diary if you want to rejuvenate your relationships.
According to a study published in this month's issue of Psychological Science, writing about values you hold dear can conjure feelings of love and connection that may help strengthen your social bonds and decrease defensiveness.
University of Michigan researchers asked a group of college-aged men and women to write a paragraph about a value they considered important, such as peace or their relationships with their families. Another group wrote about a value they didn't find important.
"Those students who wrote about their most important value [felt] overwhelming positive emotions and those feelings made them less defensive" and more open with people, said lead study author Jennifer Crocker.
Dr. Crocker says thinking about a challenging situation you will probably encounter in the day - such as a stressful meeting - and writing about your values first thing in the morning will help alter your perspective and push you through it.
"It helps people shift from 'What do they think about me?' to 'What do I want to contribute or create from this situation?' "
In a self-conscious and egocentric world, writing about values that transcend the self may help people think about others a bit more, Dr. Crocker said.
"It connects you with something more important than your ego. It reminds you that there's more you care about."
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