Your brain loves negativity – Why that is and how you can trick it into being more supportive

Reflecting on the recent months, recalling my greatest challenges, stressors, feelings of frustration, anger, and sadness comes effortlessly. Conversely, it is considerably more challenging to identify everything I’ve accomplished, the countless fun dates with my friends, and moments of pure happiness. Do you feel the same? What events and feelings can you recall from the past weeks?

And why is it that negative stimuli seem to weigh so much more than positive ones?

We tend to focus more on negative events and aspects of life, which has developed over time as a survival mechanism to help our ancestors avoid danger and threats in their environment. As our attentional resources are limited, negative stimuli have priority so we can react to potential threats appropriately. As vital for survival as this was for our ancestors, the world humans live in has changed. We no longer encounter life-threatening situations daily.

Still, our brain can trick us into having a biased perspective about our life. Therefore, it is essential to constantly practice gratitude and emphasise positive memories and achievements, however small they seem to be. It helps us to cultivate a more balanced perspective and to be more empathic with ourselves.

This is why, every Monday, I write down a few positive things that happened the past week. My favorite memory, an achievement I am proud of, a fun event with friends, or finishing this thing on my to-do list that has been sitting there for weeks. It motivates me to reflect on all the good things that happened. Especially in weeks where I don’t feel content and things don’t go to plan, reflecting on the week by focusing on the positives helps me to appreciate where I am in life much more.

Now it’s your turn: What special moment or achievement are you going to write down for last week? Go back to your camera roll or take a look at your calendar from last week and actively recall all the good things that happened.