5 Simple tips to deal with the Negativity Bias! (Video version)

The negativity bias is the phenomena by which humans give more psychological weight to bad experiences than a good ones Subsequently, you think about bad experiences for longer periods of time and they weigh more heavily upon you. Human beings developed a negativity bias—that is, they evolved to notice and respond more forcibly to the negative—since that helped our ancestors to stay alive.

Thousands and thousands of years ago it was more important to escape negative situations than it was to approach opportunity. After all, being killed by a tiger is final, while missing out on the opportunity to eat berries isn’t. By assuming the worst from the rustling in the bush and running away, our ancestor made sure to survive so that he could pass on his genes.

He could eat berries another day. In our modern world, having a negativity bias is no longer necessary for our survival. However, our brains are still wired to constantly be on the lookout for tigers; that is, they’re wired for negativity.Left unchecked, the negativity bias can become a serious impediment to our happiness and quality of life. Fortunately, there are ways to deal with the negativity bias.