The Science of Time Travel by Elizabeth Howell

Author:Elizabeth Howell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781510749658
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 2020-05-19T16:00:00+00:00

The Science of Self-Confidence

While the time-travel science is a little lacking, we can go a little bit into another undercurrent of the original Back to the Future: how to get a little more confidence in yourself. Marty isn’t convinced that he should send his guitar-playing to a record label, because what if he’s rejected? And upon going back to 1955, he discovers that his dad struggles with many of the same self-confidence issues. Is it worth going for the girl that he has a crush on, even though she may not feel the same way? Should he dare to share the fictional short stories he’s working on, even though the publishing business is tough? The simplest way of addressing this is first of all, to understand your thoughts. Our memories allow us a way of time traveling through our mind. This means that when we make a decision to do something (or not to do something), we’re engaging in a bit of forecasting—in deciding whether or not we have the ability to do something. But often, this “ability” is born purely from belief, as Forbes puts it: “Confidence is not a fixed attribute; it’s the outcome of the thoughts we think and the actions we take. No more; no less.”6

How can we convince ourselves we are more likely to succeed than fail? Perhaps the most important thing is to cultivate what experts call a “growth mindset.” There’s been a lot of research in this field from Stanford University’s Carol Dweck,7 among many other scientists, backed up by research in past decades showing that the mind can remain flexible (it has “plasticity,” as the experts say) to allow for learning from experience. That plasticity persists even as you age, which means that yes, if you do want to go back to school in your forties (or even in your eighties!) to finish your university degree, by all means do go ahead.

We can’t guarantee that changing your mindset will make you a successful rock star (which Marty wanted) or fiction author (as his dad wanted), but with some creativity, in many cases you can build a life that includes elements of your passion. If you love music, you could move into related fields such as being a DJ for corporate events, or perhaps, get a “day job” that pays the bills and do the music in your spare time on the weekends and evenings. It all depends on what kind of life you want to build, within the finances and other limitations you must work with. What are you going to work on next?

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