Unis à la table : la magie du bridge en équipe
J’adore le début de l’automne, le temps ralentit et on peut profiter d’ap...
In the psychology of well-being (positive psychology), we study what makes people happy and satisfied, what contributes to the quality of their life, and how we can increase those positive outcomes.
It’s no secret that people differ significantly in their pursuit of happiness, but there are still some key domains that are important to almost everyone. The most often mentioned among these are rewarding social contacts and the feeling of self-accomplishment and personal growth. Interestingly, for the majority of people, finances and other material things contribute to personal well-being only up to the point where they can lead a decent life without worrying about every cent they spend. Similarly, good health alone will not make us happier, but once it’s impaired, it becomes a significant source of dissatisfaction.
Besides family and work conditions, the way we spend our leisure time is one of the main factors responsible for life satisfaction. As people have more free time and the diversity of available choice grows, one can choose from a variety of activities to fill free time, from lounging around watching TV or scrolling through social media to engaging in highly involving and challenging activities such as playing or studying bridge.
In the second half of the 20th century, Dr. Robert A. Stebbins, a world-famous Canadian sociologist, coined the term "serious leisure." Initially, it sounded a bit like an oxymoron to me. I wondered, "Am I not serious enough during my work? Isn’t leisure supposed to be something relaxing, undemanding, and fun, not another serious thing?"
Dr. Stebbins defines serious leisure as a systematic pursuit of an amateur, hobbyist, or volunteer activity that is highly substantial, interesting, and fulfilling and where, in the typical case, participants find a career in acquiring and expressing a combination of its special skills, knowledge, and experience (Stebbins, 1992). As you may suspect, bridge is one such activity. This means that the game itself has the potential to generate quality time spent in a systematic and dedicated manner, leading to the acquisition of special skills, knowledge, and fulfilling experiences. But do we need to become professionals to experience the benefits of bridge as a serious leisure activity? No 😊. Just as an amateur musician, gardener, or volunteer at an animal shelter flourishes from an engaging hobby, a bridge player, deeply involved in the game benefits regardless of professional status.
It's important to note that a wide variety of activities can serve as serious leisure, but whether a specific activity fulfills this role for a particular person depends on how they pursue it. The more engaged and systematic someone is, the more likely they are to experience the benefits of serious leisure.
The main difference between serious leisure and “just” leisure is that during serious leisure, a person is active and physically and/or mentally engaged in an effort to improve themselves, or to create or contribute to something. Therefore, entertainment activities such as watching TV shows or scrolling through social networks can hardly be considered serious leisure activities as we are (usually) only passively consuming content.
Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we all need time to exist in a completely unproductive and lazy manner, with minimal mental and physical involvement. In Croatia, we say "Mozak na pašu," which literally means “brain on pasture.” So, don’t worry if some of your free time isn’t filled with what we call serious leisure; you can still enjoy yourself in a purely hedonic way, and it is completely natural and even necessary for good mental health.
However, as you are reading this, you probably play bridge, and I hope most of you don’t just randomly click on bids and cards but are rather involved in the game and therefore receive some benefits of serious leisure. From personal experience, I know that sometimes I decide to play a tournament even when I’m not mentally prepared, just to avoid doing other things, or to procrastinate, because I’m too tired to do other things. In such cases, I don’t get the same pleasure as when I look forward to every board and fully immerse myself in the game. Consequently, I often become irritated as I feel like I’m abusing the game I love. I believe that most players have experienced both scenarios: playing with high motivation and effort that enables immersion into the game, and playing only as a way of killing time without much dedication. In the former case, you’re likely to feel self-accomplished and satisfied, while in the latter you may feel restless and futile. So, although some activities have greater potential to provide serious leisure benefits, it is how you approach an activity that really matters.
Research shows that spending time on activities you enjoy helps to improve your mental health and well-being. There are so many things in life we feel we have to do for one reason or another, so letting yourself choose truly satisfying free-time activities could be a key to happiness. People who are engaged in enjoyable hobbies report better health, fewer symptoms of depression, and higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction.
In the series of columns that will follow over the coming months, I’ll explore how bridge contributes to well-being and how to approach the game to maximize positive outcomes. Don’t worry, I won’t share my thoughts on preempting as no one would profit from those, but rather explain how playing bridge is associated with well-being and how to make it a rewarding life ingredient. We’ll discuss bridge as an instrument that provides intellectual challenge, status, social connectedness and approval, as well as the experience of various intense emotions.
I hope you’ll share your thoughts regarding the positive experiences you’ve gained from being engaged in the game at all levels, and I’ll try to elaborate and summarize so we can all learn from it. Feel free to refer to these articles if you want help to convince those who might be reluctant to take a bridge course, or to explain to friends and family why bridge is such a big deal in your life.
Tihana Brkljačić is a psychologist and a bridge player. She teaches psychology and bridge at Zagreb university. She represented Croatia at multiple European championships and at The World Championship (Wuhan cup) in 2022. As a psychologist, her main areas of interest are in quality of life, well-being and communication. Additionally, she studies the psychology of games (focusing on bridge in particular) and consults players on various topics.
Why can't we just start up a random Group and simple
Sign and play😄
As a child, I saw the joy of bridge from my mother and aunts and always wanted to play; however, with my work and family responsibilities, I had to wait. With retirement, I knew bridge would stimulate my brain and be fun. Then, I was a traveling consultant for many years and visited the local bridge clubs. I’ll never be a great player, but playing brings me so much happiness. Now that I am in my 90s, I am so VERY, VERY happy that BBO games are available. Bridge saves minds and hearts!!!
At the age of 80 I spend more time alone. The game I have loved since the age of 13 is one of my most important contacts with the world. I am amazed that I am still building skills after all this time. No two games are alike and the strategy in bidding and playing keeps my mind sharp. I believe that playing the game has real health benefits.
Hi Tihana, Serious Leisure, indeed! I loved your article. Thank you.
I started learning and playing bridge much too late in life, unfortunately, but I cannot get enough of it.
I now have a good and understanding partner, who brings out the best in me, so my game has improved a lot, but on days when I am tired and cannot maintain my focus and concentration, I make a lot of mistakes, and that upsets me terribly. I will try to remember your phrase every time I play, and hope to enjoy my serious leisure.
Looking forward to more from you.
Best wishes, Sally Nanda 🙏❤️
Great read! Thanks for sharing. Learned a new term "serious leisure" I am learning and enjoying the game of bridge and all that comes with it. The camaraderie, travel to tournaments, and the mental challenge♠️
Hello Tihana Many thanks for a clear and stimulating article. I am a retired academic (training and skills development) and would offer the following observations from my own experience.
I took up Bridge in the UK during the Covid lockdown in April 2021 – learning through an online class. I was pretty good at Crosswords and arrogantly thought that these skills would be transferrable. I soon discovered that this was not the case; I will be mediocre at best.
Immediately I am involved in a very demanding form of ‘serious leisure’, a new term to me. I am the Parliamentary Agent (campaign organiser) for a Labour Party candidate in our UK General Election. Only a week to go (thank heaven) and I will then be seeking develop new activities.
I am particularly interested in strategies to prevent cognitive decline: my closest long-standing friend has vascular dementia. Could playing Bridge make a contribution? It is sadly too late for my friend but possibly not others. I wonder if there is any accessible literature in this this field.? By all means contact me directly if this is of interest, Tihana. You will find my email from a search. With thanks Martyn Sloman
I too took up Bridge during lockdown - am so grateful I found it, even though I obviously should have taken up this serious leisure activity sooner. Have 'met' so many new friends, mostly online at Bridge classes and on BBO, so thankfully we are all at a siimilar level. Learning together is so much fun and I am convinced it is good for my mental health.
I'm sure this is true, although I regret I cannot give you references to the scholarly works which have shown this.
I have days when although I am trying to play good bridge it just doesn't happen. I know it's good for me, but I have a partner across the table who isn't always appreciative.
Boot your partner, continue doing so until you find an engaging one. Period
Good article.. bridge is a game of friends and friends are treasure and blessings.
Well said Maverick👍🏻
A very interesting article, which I can relate to. I only started playing bridge as I approached retirement. It definitely fits into the ‘serious leisure’ category along with my other hobby of playing music in a band.
The health benefits of bridge were most noticeable during Covid when our bridge club (Basingstoke) was one of the first in the UK to set up an online club. I gained immense satisfaction in being one of the leaders on this initiative, helping less IT aware members get to grips with the technology.
I am just an ordinary club player - occasionally taking part in competitions outside the club. I can relate to all the well being benefits that you refer to. As I get so much enjoyment from the game, I am motivated to ‘give something back’ to the club. So I help with the teaching programme and direct and score some sessions.
I have merged my two interests and formed a band purely with bridge club members. We have played for a number of elderly groups in the community as well as running a fundraiser to support bridge club premises improvements.
Thank you for the interesting read.
John.glasscock@gmail.com
What’s the name of your bridge band?
2 No Trump? 😉
The Grand Slammers!
Excellent Idea! Congratulations. Hope to play Bridge on Line together .....
I play bridge in a club twice a weekend,and it gives me both good brain activity and social activity. I look forward to evry game even though I does not always suceed. Then I think it comes a new game with new chanses
Thanks Tihana(sic),thats' your name right.Serious leisure
I am yoga practitioner and bridge player-derive great pleasure and benefit.Some research has shown that yoga regenerates neurons.Also an exercise of smooth muscle
And autonomous nerves.Bridge does the same,I mean serious bridge.
Right!!
Dear Sirs
Thais is, of course, the best definition I have read about the Bridge contract. More that a game Thais is a way of life, something to develop your Brain on a positive and cognitive manner. On the other hand it helps you to develop your mind.
Thank you very much indeed
Joaquim Rebelo
Very good article. I play bridge and enjoy it. Some days get all the bids right and sometimes my brain goes to sleep!
I have the most positive experience of being engaged in the game.
It’s really fantastic .
I always try to explain to my family and friends the feeling that one has when you are playing , always is a challenge in every side of the game
It should be teached in school as part of an activity