Humans are biologically predisposed towards negative thinking. Psychologists refer to this as “negativity bias”.
As humans we tend to remember traumatic experiences better than positive ones. We are able to recall insults better than praise and think about and respond more strongly to negative events than to equally positive ones. Neuroscientist Rick Hanson describes this by stating that negativity bias “is like velcro for negativity and teflon for positivity”.
Our focus on negative things is rooted in how our attention works. When we focus and put our attention on negative things, we actually reshape our perception into seeing negative things.
The good news is that it is possible to rewire the brain to promote positive thoughts rather than anxiety and worry.
