The good old days, you know..
Of simpler times, and better music, and no commitments, easy lifestyle and no-Google-Maps. You think
Huh?
Yeah, this right here is a trick the mind plays: the past almost always looks better than the present.
For some, this is objectively true, particularly in certain situations.
But most of the time, it’s really not.
So what’s this really about? Why do we remember the past so fondly? Why do humans romanticize the past?
Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as rosy retrospection.
Here’s what I found.
What is Rosy Retrospection?
Rosy retrospection is our tendency to believe things were better in the past than they currently are. It’s a cognitive bias that is closely related to, but different from, nostalgia.
nostalgia: mostly an emotional longing or affection for something in the past.
It’s in how long after we quit a terrible job, we begin to ‘recall’ how it probably wasn’t that bad. Or how we think back to the earlier days of University and swear it was “only the best” even though we were drowning under multiple tests and assignments, constantly tired, and not to forget that one time stress pimples let all hell loose.
But maybe this is a good thing? I mean, who wants to remember details that suck or that might make us miserable?
The thing is, while rose-tinted glasses might be the better problem to have, it’s still a problem. Because we don’t objectively assess the past, which affects our judgement and decision-making.
Also, it can lead to declinism, which is the belief that things are getting worse even when, objectively, they aren’t.
So what causes rosy retrospection?
Here’s the cold truth: our memories can’t be fully trusted.
The way our brain stores data, which includes memories, is interesting. Because we can’t possibly store every single piece of data, the brain filters through. It decides what to keep and discard, at least on the surface level, for immediate recall.
One theory is the fading affect bias. This is the tendency for our expression of feelings and emotions to fade more over time for unpleasant events than for pleasant events.
According to this study, a student is less likely to have a rosy view when they are less emotionally involved in school.
Another research shows that this can begin as early as within 12 hours of an event. The details of the event might persist, but the feeling it evoked is stored separately in the brain. Different regions of the brain are involved in memory formation, such as the amygdala (mainly associated with processing emotions) and prefrontal cortex (associated with short-term working memory).
This is curious because the mechanism of rosy retrospection contrasts with how negativity bias works, wherein our brains tend to highlight current negatives as a way to stay safe.
Another proposed rationale for rosy retrospection is the reminiscence bump. This refers to the tendency for (older adults) to have an enhanced recollection of events that occurred during adolescence and early adulthood, where most significant events happen. It’s why everything always seemed better “back in their days”.
And as we all know, that’s not necessarily the case.
This is one of the 1001 reasons I love journaling. It’s a way to get things down in real time with the most accurate information.
It’s alright to look to the past with fondness, but it’s important to also look to the future with hope and optimism (even when it seems there’s no good reason to at the moment). The goal isn’t to demonise the past or romanticise it. As impossible as it might sound, the goal is to maintain a healthy balance.
Always remember that your memories are selective.
Life isn’t all black or white.
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