Anyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win (Cornholing with Michelle Hastie Thompson)
Psychology PhD student Michelle Hastie Thompson shares how cornhole helped her rebuild community after losing everything in a wildfire. She discusses the game's psychological benefits for stress relief, social connection, and fostering a growth mindset.
Deep Dive Analysis
13 Topic Outline
Michelle's Experience with the Camp Fire
Cornhole as a Coping Mechanism After Disaster
Basic Rules and History of Cornhole
Michelle's Personal Introduction to Cornhole
Cornhole as a Professional and Socially Distanced Sport
Applying Psychology to Cornhole Performance
Psychological Benefits: Stress Relief and Presence
Psychological Benefits: Self-Compassion and Growth Mindset
Psychological Benefits: Healthy Competition
Social Benefits: Building Connection and Community
Social Benefits: Inclusivity and Accessibility
Advice for Cornhole Beginners
Key Takeaways for Well-being
5 Key Concepts
Cornhole
A lawn game involving a pair of wooden boards, each with a circular hole, and a set of four square beanbags. Players toss bags toward the board, aiming for the hole, and score points if the bag lands on the board or falls through the hole.
Flow/Play State
A mental state required for optimal performance in accuracy games like cornhole, characterized by presence and being in the body. In this state, the mind does not overthink, allowing players to rely on training rather than dangerous thoughts.
Cognitive Distortions
Irrational thoughts such as jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, or all-or-nothing thinking. In cornhole, these might manifest as immediately making negative meaning out of a missed bag, leading to a detrimental spiral.
Growth Mindset
The belief that one's abilities can improve over time with effort and practice. Cornhole fosters this by providing immediate feedback and visible improvements with small tweaks, encouraging players to believe they can get better.
Third Place
A concept referring to social environments that are neither home nor work, where individuals can gather and form relationships. Cornhole clubs often serve as these 'third places,' fostering strong community bonds that cut across different backgrounds.
10 Questions Answered
Michelle coped by turning to cornhole, which helped her and her husband build a new community and find connection after their town of Paradise, California, was destroyed.
Players toss beanbags at a wooden board with a hole, scoring points if the bag lands on the board or falls through the hole.
Cornhole provides a social, physical, and slightly thrilling activity that gets people out of their heads and into a fun, low-stakes challenge, unlike mindless scrolling.
Cornhole teaches players not to over-analyze missed shots or make negative meaning out of minor failures, which helps counter self-criticism and irrational thoughts like cognitive distortions.
The game offers immediate feedback and opportunities for quick improvement with small tweaks, encouraging players to believe they can get better with practice and effort.
Strong relationships are the single biggest predictor of long-term mental and physical health, as shown by the 86-year Harvard Study of Adult Development.
Cornhole's format, often involving random pairings and playing side-by-side, naturally encourages conversation and connection with strangers in a low-pressure environment.
Cornhole is highly inclusive because it doesn't require athleticism, has no age limits, and can be played by people with various physical abilities, including those with disabilities.
A 'third place' is a social environment outside of home or work where people can gather and form relationships; cornhole clubs serve as such places, fostering strong community bonds.
The key takeaways are to find fun ways to reduce stress, recognize and counter cognitive distortions, celebrate personal growth, and find a 'third place' to build community and social connections.
21 Actionable Insights
1. Build Strong Relationships
Actively build and maintain strong social relationships, as they are the single biggest predictor of long-term mental and physical health.
2. Cultivate a Third Place
Seek out and regularly engage with a ’third place’ (a community space outside of home and work) to form diverse relationships and build a serious community in your life.
3. Actively Build Community
Participate in community-based activities to create strong support networks that can assist members during tough times and foster a deep sense of belonging.
4. Integrate Play and Hobbies
Prioritize integrating play, hobbies, and social activities into your life to combat stress, avoid obsession with external factors (like body image), and find soulful fulfillment.
5. Embrace a Growth Mindset
Believe in your ability to improve over time, especially when supported by a community that encourages learning and acknowledges small, immediate changes.
6. Don’t Over-Interpret Mistakes
Practice not assigning excessive negative meaning to mistakes or minor setbacks, as this prevents spiraling into self-criticism and improves performance and overall well-being.
7. Challenge Cognitive Distortions
Recognize and challenge irrational thoughts like jumping to conclusions, catastrophizing, or all-or-nothing thinking, understanding that your brain might be creating unfounded worries.
8. Channel Competition Healthily
Find a dedicated, contained outlet for competitive drive (like a hobby or sport) to channel intense ambition in a healthy way, preventing it from becoming toxic and consuming other areas of life.
9. Share Hobbies with Loved Ones
Participate in ‘side-by-side’ activities or shared hobbies with family and partners to foster conversation, connection, and quality time.
10. Practice Presence for Performance
Cultivate presence and body awareness to achieve peak performance in accuracy-based activities, as physiological changes due to a lack of presence can negatively impact results.
11. Choose Effective Fun Activities
Select fun activities that are social, physical, and slightly thrilling to effectively reduce stress and get out of your head, rather than relying on passive screen time.
12. Overcome Social Anxiety
Participate in structured social activities (e.g., those with rotating partners) to overcome social anxiety, as the built-in interaction in a low-stakes environment makes connecting easier.
13. Initiate New Communities
If a desired community or activity doesn’t exist in your area, take the initiative to create it yourself to meet your social needs and those of others.
14. Use Activities to Break Ice
Employ interactive activities like cornhole to break the ice and facilitate natural conversation when meeting new people or bonding with friends.
15. Prioritize Emergency Essentials
In an emergency, quickly grab essential documents, valuables from a safe, and irreplaceable sentimental items, leaving non-critical possessions behind.
16. Seek Inclusive Activities
Choose activities that are inclusive and welcome people of all ages, physical abilities, and backgrounds, fostering a more diverse and accepting community.
17. Start Low-Barrier Hobbies
Opt for hobbies or sports with low barriers to entry (inexpensive equipment, easy to learn) to encourage participation and make them accessible to a wider range of people.
18. Apply Psychology to Performance
Apply psychological principles like mindfulness, breathing, and addressing limiting beliefs to improve performance in slow-paced, accuracy-based activities.
19. Value Small Skill Tweaks
Pay attention to small adjustments or tips when learning a new skill, as even minor tweaks can lead to rapid improvement and boost motivation.
20. Distinguish Play Styles
Differentiate between playing for pure relaxation (e.g., with alcohol) and playing to compete, understanding that competitive play demands presence and a flow state.
21. Find Local Cornhole Clubs
To get started with cornhole, use ACL.com to find local events, check the ‘Addicted to Cornhole’ forum for clubs, or build your own boards and bags on a budget.
5 Key Quotes
We definitely felt like we had our people very quickly after a very tragic situation where we completely lost everything.
Michelle Hastie Thompson
You cannot play your best game if you're not present.
Michelle Hastie Thompson
Don't make meaning out of it. Because the truth is, even our top pros don't make every bag in the hole every game.
Michelle Hastie Thompson
Strong relationships are the single biggest predictor of long-term mental and physical health.
Dr. Laurie Santos
The slogan of the American Cornhole League is anyone can play, anyone can win.
Dr. Laurie Santos
1 Protocols
Getting Started with Cornhole
Michelle Hastie Thompson- Visit ACL.com to find local events and clubs by entering your location.
- Check the 'Addicted to Cornhole' forum to ask about nearby clubs, as it's an extremely active community.
- Build your own boards or make your own bags if you are on a budget.
- Invite friends over to your house to throw bags as an easy way to get started and make friends.