Dr. Katzenstein continues:
“Welcome to Emotional Wellness Daily, a project of SIMHA, the Sephardic Initiative for Mental Health Awareness. Previously, we talked about negativity bias, which refers to our tendency to use and internalize negative events and information at a disproportionate rate to positive events and positive information.
Among other things, it helps explain why we remember insults or hurtful comments a lot more than we remember compliments or praise. It also explains why we tend to dwell on unpleasant or traumatic events a lot more than pleasant or enjoyable ones. We often focus our attention more quickly on neutral situations, but the intense focus is on the negative or perceived negative aspects rather than on the positive ones.
So how do we address this? By checking in with ourselves throughout the day and becoming increasingly more aware of our thoughts. When we start to recognize what kinds of thoughts are running through our minds, we'll notice that there are helpful ones and unhelpful ones. This is also true for our behaviors. We often do things that are really great, and sometimes we do things below our standards, but we often remember and internalize the times that we failed.
So how do we address this? When we take a moment to savor our positive experiences, we're creating memories for our future. We're building up and storing these positive mental images and feelings, which helps address the imbalance that negativity bias predisposes us to.
So, the next time you experience, or rather, create a positive moment, take a bit longer than you usually would to enjoy it and celebrate it.
Notice the sensations, the happy thoughts, the pleasant emotions that you feel, and make a mental note of what specifically you've enjoyed about it. Then, when you go home, reflect on what happened. Start turning this skill into a habit.
I know that right now, many of you are thinking, “Yeah, that's a good idea in theory, and I should do it. But I've tried, so many times, to initiate projects, which I don't end up following through on, that I wasn't able to sustain.”
Well, guess where that thought is coming from? That's correct. It's coming from your negativity bias. But right now, at this moment, think about all the times that you were actually able to accomplish, achieve, and sustain success. Take a minute right after you finish reading this, to savor those moments. Think about the ingredients that contributed to those successes.
Remind yourself of the feelings you had during and after those moments and experiences in which you were able to succeed and accomplish and achieve what you wanted to.
Thank you.