Where do you Rest your attention?

Written By Maria Shea

WHAT WE FOCUS ON SHAPES OUR BRAINS

 

Do we tell ourselves that "Life is Hard" or "Life is Amazing" (or at least "Interesting")?

If you see the glass as half empty, it'll always seem half empty.  But if you train yourself to see the glass as half full, you'll start to see and feel that positivity!

Change your focus =

Change your Brain.

 

Understanding Negativity Bias

Our brains are like built-in survival kits, always on the lookout for danger.  So, they pay more attention to bad stuff because avoiding danger is super important for staying safe and alive.  It's kind of like how you pay more attention to a scary noise in the dark than a nice smell.  That's why negative things tend to stick in our minds more than positive ones.

Other Examples of Negativity Bias:

-More likely to remember a news story about a disaster rather than a feel-good one.

-Focusing on ONE critical comment, versus MANY compliments. 

-Remembering a traumatic event more clearly than a happy occasion.

-When making decisions, you worry more about the potential negative outcomes versus the possible positive gains.

Here are 3 ANTIDOTES to counter Negativity Bias:

#1.  Understand Threat Reactivity/Protection:  

Our initial assessments are often inaccurate.  

We tend to exaggerate our threats and miss out on potential opportunities.  

We become overly cautious, play it safe and limit our aspirations; hunkering down, and dream smaller dreams.

#2.  BUILD-UP Positive Material:

🌸 Make a list of your accomplishments & read them!

🌸 Make a list of your affirmations, things you like about yourself, & read them!

🌸 Reflect or journal on things you are GRATEFUL for.

🌸 Close your eyes and remember (at least) one very positive experience in your life...Let yourself feel that same joy, now.  Linger in this. Journal about this.

🌸 Look for positive Facts around you.  Also called "Glimmers",Examples can include:

  • The feeling of sunshine on your skin

  • Sound of laughter from a friend and from your own body

  • Appreciating the strength of your legs to walk you around

  • Enjoying the taste of food, and feeling full in your belly

  • Seeing the smile wrinkles and light in the eye of your loved one

  • Watching clouds float by

#3.  SOAK these Positive Experiences IN:

Now we really need to EXPERIENCE this Positive stuff deeply, INTENSIFYING them (ie. read your affirmations many times, deepen this by looking in the mirror when reading them).  

Only when we SOAK the positive in, can we then learn to RECORD it into our cells - for our brains to build this good neural structure.  ABSORB these positive experiences as soaking into your brain, and body. 

SAVOR & FEEL the positive feelings that come up with these positive experiences... Joy, Relief, Confidence, Happiness, Contentment, Pride, Peace,  SUSTAIN these positive experiences and feelings LONGER than a few seconds...

Great Example of this: Did you know that at the end of a Yoga class, one of the reasons that we lay in savasana (corpse pose) at the end of class is to INTEGRATE the yoga we just did deeply into our cellular level, sustaining the experience?

 

Don't Just Stop & Smell the Roses...

REALLY Stop & Smell them.

Look deeply at the flower, the shapes, the leaves, and the way the sunlight hits it.

SOAK in the flower not for just 2-3 seconds, but for 10 seconds...30 seconds...or 2 minutes!  This is a great way to combat negativity bias, REALLY SOAK IN THE GOOD…for a LONG time.

We are then CHANGING OUR BRAINS!

My 1st rose bloom on my rosebush of the season!

Maria Shea