3 Simple Steps to Overcome Your Negativity Bias

 

How We Can Overcome the Negativity Bias

It may have served our ancestors to focus on the negative, however in this modern age we are not necessarily helped by finding every fault or threat in our daily environment, so how can we rid ourselves of the negativity bias?
Well, we are not be able to undo this evolutionary development, but we can restore balance in our lives by changing the way we interact with positive stimuli.

1. “Look for good facts, and turn them into good experiences.”

Make a conscious effort to look for positive aspects of every experience. Take active measures to notice the good in both the world and in yourself. As you do this, pay attention to any resistance you encounter within yourself and acknowledge any instinctual attempts to dismiss or deny these positive feelings, but choose not focus on them. Practicing this at least a half dozen times a day, can quickly turn it into a habit.

2. “Savor the experience.”

Attend to positive experiences. Give yourself ample time (at least twenty to thirty seconds) to fully enjoy that moment. By elongating our positive sensations, we allow more neurons to fire and wire together in response to the stimulus. This solidifies the experience in our memory.
We are predisposed to collecting and clinging to negative memories, but we can counteract this by intentionally developing a more diverse and deeply rooted base of positive memories. As we fill our memory with more positive experiences, through savoring, we become less reliant on external positive stimuli.  
 

3. “Intend and sense that the good experience is sinking into you.”

This is where your mindfulness practice can come in handy, by becoming aware of the different ways in which a positive experience affects you. Identify the emotions involved. Visualize the positivity spreading throughout your body. Consider the brain’s plasticity as neurons fire and wire together. When we consciously interact with our positive experiences, we can strengthen their neurological presence in our brains.  



Sources:positivepsychologyprogram.com