Overcoming Negativity Bias

Did you know your brain is pre-wired to respond more quickly to negative thoughts, feelings and perceived threats? It’s called negativity bias.

In the caveman days, this was crucial to survival. You needed to recognize what the threats were to avoid them. Miss one roaming lion, tiger or bear and… oh my.

In today's world, this bias is not as important.

And yet, it still shows up in ways like...

You receive 10 compliments about a job well done.

Happy, happy. Joy, joy.

The 11^th is not so happy. You stew for hours or even days.

The good news is that you can change that. You can actually have your brain scan for the positive.

Neurons that fire together wire together. Or passing mental states become lasting neural traits.

In other words, you can rewire your brain to see the positive.

Think about what it would be like if…

• Someone cut you off in traffic and you just smiled and continued on.
• You see a gloomy, raining day as the beginning of wonderful smelling colorful flowers.
• You see fear as a stepping-stone to a new adventure.

Vibrant Living Tip

Next time something happens that causes you angst, I invite you to do one of the following:

1. Think of the happiest day of your life
2. Laugh, ROFL type laugh
3. Play your favorite music and sing along

Feel how good it feels. How happy you feel. Stay with it awhile. The feeling has to go from short turn memory buffers to long-term storage.

How does this help sustain you?

Vibrant Living Takeaway

Positively primed brains are:

• 3 times more creative
• 39% healthier
• 31% more productive
• 23% less stressed

Now that’s something to be happy about!

Until next time... Live Vibrantly!

Lynn Tranchell