Have you wondered why news coverage is predominantly negative?
Have you noticed that we dwell on the unpleasant and traumatic events much more than pleasant ones?
We tend to remember that one negative comment or insult more clearly than the other hundreds of compliments.
We replay arguments in our head, overthinking what we should have said.
We vividly remember our mistakes and embarrassing moments. Even if they happened ages ago.
Here's the thing.
The survival of our ancestors depended on their skill of avoiding danger.
They had to always be on the lookout for threats and react instantly. Paying attention to negative stuff was literally a matter of life and death.
Those who were attuned to danger and paid more attention to bad things around them were more likely to survive. And pass on their genes.
So our brains evolved to respond much more โ emotionally and physically โ to averse stimuli.
The Negativity Bias is our tendency to give much more psychological weight to bad experiences than good experiences.
That's why people will do much more to avoid pain than seek pleasure.
Thatโs why urgencies and deadlines are such good motivators.
Bad emotions, bad parenting and negative feedback have more impact than good ones.
We are more motivated to avoid โbadโ self-definitions than to seek good ones.
In a way, our negativity bias also makes us more prone to other cognitive biases.
Focusing on negative stuff activates our sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system.
In such a situation the reptilian brain gains more influence, making you act irrationally.
The negativity bias manifests as loss aversion in behavioral economics.
To most people, losing something feels worse than gaining the same thing.
When people are given a choice of picking between a โguaranteed $20โ or โ25% probability of getting $100โ, most will pick the former.
Even though it makes logical sense to pick the latter.
(Look up Prospect Theory to dig deeper into this.)
When itโs about taking a risk, we focus more on all that could go wrong, versus all that might go well.
Our brain is wired to play it safe. Back in the days, taking a risk could literally result in death.
But today we face no such dangers. We need to rewire our brains.
Here are a few ideas to tackle the Negativity Bias:
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The first step towards overcoming our cognitive biases is to acknowledge them and become more self-aware.
By being mindful of the negativity bias, you can consciously choose to ignore the false alarms and realize when youโre needlessly dwelling on something unpleasant.
You already know how you can become more mindful and self-aware. Make meditation a non-negotiable habit.
Dr. Vervaeke offers an existential interpretation of Metta.
He says love is not an emotion or feeling, it's an existential mode. It's a way of being. It's a way of knowing and being known. It's a commitment to a way of life with someone.
Anger is a misunderstood emotion. Society often paints it in a negative light. And there's a sense of shame attached to feeling angry.
But there are no wrong emotions. Every emotion provides us valuable information and guidance. [1/13]
Anger is our body's adaptive mechanism to make us aware and respond to an unmet need.
The need could be concrete โ like a promotion, a relationship, or more money. Or it could be abstract โ like the need to be understood, or the need to be respected.
An unmet need could also reflect a sense of injustice. Something is wrong, according to your values, and you need to make it right.
Anger acts as a stimulant. It causes a rise in dopamine levels, flushes the skin, and increases the heart rate.
How Meditation Alters the Brain (๐๐๐๐๐๐)
Here's how meditation changes the brain โ structurally and functionally
For a long time, I dismissed meditation as spiritual woo-woo.
How could closing your eyes and focusing on your breathe or thoughts or whatever make any difference?
To my "rational" (and ignorant) mind, it made no sense.
Sometime last year, I read up on the science of meditation. And it made me feel stupid for ignoring it all these years.
So for over a year, I've meditated almost daily. I'm not going to talk about the (life-changing) benefits I've experienced. Because your mileage may vary.