overcome your negativity bias with positivity

Our survival instinct has propelled our behaviors since prehistoric times. It has all been about either finding a meal or becoming one. 

Although our naturally sharpened negativity bias has helped us stave off danger for thousands of years, it has also trained us to always look at negative things in every situation. On top of that, we start paying more and more attention to our own faults and shortcomings, eroding our confidence and making us more self-conscious.

Not every new or out of the ordinary experience is a threat in today’s day and age, and it’s crucial that we make “hunting for the good stuff” an integral part of our daily lives. 

Negative and toxic information is like weeds these days, easy to come along and always read to prey upon our time, energy and attention anytime and anywhere, and that’s why we must make constant efforts to get rid of them and nourish our brain with positive information and inspiration.

Here are some ways to look for positivity and employ it in any kind of situation:

1. Cultivate self-awareness, and as soon as you counter a negative thought, shift your focus to something or someone that helps you feel positive emotions, such as your favorite ice-cream, or your best friend.
2. Practicing mindfulness so that you are able to observe your thoughts and feelings more objectively. 
3. Acknowledging both pleasant and unpleasant feelings.
4. Not trying to suppress negative emotions.
5. Performing cognitive restructuring by reframing an unpleasant event or experience when you find yourself going on the negativity train.
6. Enjoying and savoring the positive moments that you experience in your life, and engaging fully in the pleasant sensations and feelings that accompany them creating memories for your future self.
7. Looking for the silver lining and practicing inverse gratitude. 
8. Focusing on positive thoughts for 20-30 seconds; this will help you experience more positive thoughts by virtue of the chain reaction (or the Law of Attraction) in your mind.
9. Labeling an emotion by its name, such as “anger,” “sadness,” “hurt,” or “happiness,” as it helps you identify it clearly and recognize it more deeply. And then letting them go.
10. Challenging your negative self-talk, and replacing it with a positive and uplifting one.