UPFRONT | From the editor The ‘Batman’ effect Forget social distancing: Self-distancing may be the best thing for you and your business right now. Self-distancing, (or the “Batman effect” – which honestly sounds so much “cooler”) is essentially the creation of an alter ego to build confidence and involves “taking a step back from our immediate feelings to allow us to view a situation more dispassionately,” according to an article from the BBC. You may have seen examples of this throughout your life: It could be the “shy” kid in school who came out of their shell while on stage. For instance, Beyoncé debuted her Sasha Fierce alter ego in 2008, which she says boosted her confidence while on stage. (She has since “retired” Ms. Fierce.) At first I assumed the “Batman effect” was coined because Batman was the alter ego of Bruce Wayne, but that’s only one part of it. Apparently the namesake was highlighted during a study of six-year-olds as well. Split into three groups, the kids were given a rather boring, repetitive task to complete (framed as a “very important activity”), and an iPad was left in the room with a much more engaging game to play, designed to lure the kids away from the activity. Before the task, the children were told that if they started to get bored that it’s helpful to ask themselves about thier feelings. One group were told to think in the first-person (“am I working hard?”); another told to think in the third-person (“is Andrew working hard?); and the last group were encouraged to become a favourite character (“is Batman working hard?”). Researchers observed that the alter ego was the more extreme form of self-distancing, and overall, this group spent 13% more of the total available time on the task than those thinking in the third-person, and 23% more than those thinking about their behaviour in the first-person. As viewed from a binary thinking perspective, some of these thoughts echo being “on” while at work, and “off” while at home: A parent may have to be loud, boisterous and socially engaged while at work, yet while at home can feel free to be more reserved. Our feature on page 12 also speaks to having an “on-season” and an “off-season” for personal and business success. What’s your alter-ego? I’m left thinking, what would Beyoncé do? Stay safe, September 2020 Volume 25, Number 5 EDITOR Jannen Belbeck [email protected] (519) 429-5231 PUBLISHER Christine Livingstone [email protected] (519) 429-5173 ACCOUNT COORDINATOR Barb Comer [email protected] (519) 429-5171 MEDIA DESIGNER Brooke Shaw CIRCULATION MANAGER Anita Madden GROUP PUBLISHER/VP SALES Martin McAnulty [email protected] COO Scott Jamieson [email protected] Published and printed by Annex Business Media, 105 Donly Drive South, Simcoe, ON, Canada N3Y 4N5 Publication Mail Agreement #40065710 ISSN 1488-6952 CIRCULATION e-mail: [email protected] Tel: (416) 510-5183 Fax: (416) 416-510-6875 (main) 416-442-2191 Mail: 111 Gordon Baker Rd., Suite 400, Toronto, ON M2H 3R1 Annex Privacy Officer [email protected] Tel: 800-668-2384 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor is published eight times a year: February, April, May, June, July/August, September, October and December. SUBSCRIPTION RATES Canada – 1 Year $26.00, 2 years $42.00, 3 years $60.00 (HST #867172652RT0001) USA – 1 Year $60.00 (CDN Funds) Occasionally, Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor will mail information on behalf of industry-related groups whose products and services we believe may be of interest to you. If you prefer not to receive this information, please contact our circulation department in any of the four ways listed above. @CN_Doctor /ChiropracticNaturopathicDoc No part of the editorial content of this publication may be reprinted without the publisher’s written permission. ©2020 Annex Publishing & Printing Inc. All rights reserved. Opinions expressed in this magazine are not necessarily those of the editor or the publisher. No liability is assumed for errors or omissions. All advertising is subject to the publisher’s approval. Such approval does not imply any endorsement of the products or services advertised. Publisher reserves the right to refuse advertising that does not meet the standards of the publication. JANNEN BELBECK, Editor @ChiropracticNaturopathicDoc Use the hashtag #CanadianChiropractor or #CanadianNaturopath (or tag us) for a chance to be featured in a future issue! EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Richard Brown, DC; Victoria Coleman, DC; Connie J. D’Astolfo, DC, Dip HA, PhD (cand); Don Nixdorf, DC; Greg Stewart, BPE, DC 4 Chiropractic and Naturopathic Doctor September 2020 www.Cndoctor.ca
Chiropractic + Naturopathic Doctor September 2020: Page 4
