Normally, we know that it is true that our brain focuses more on the negative aspects of our life than on those that are positive. This manifests itself in different ways, for example, when we tend to remember much more negative past events than those pleasant memories, or consider more the existence of problems instead of solutions. The truth is that this explains why, as human beings, it is more difficult for us to be more effective in achieving our happiness.
The neurological foundations of the "negativity" factor are present in every individual. Some studies refer that this is the reason that has led us to subsist throughout time, since it made it possible to detect threats and risks in the environment.
Feeling fear or that we are threatened is something we should consider positively in order to be flexible, adapt and create action plans. That should be the focus, because the worst scenario is to be stuck, paralyzed in negativity, without conceiving a response that will lead to success in the face of a challenge.
Why is it said that the brain is hardwired for negative focus?
Our brain programming is focused on survival. Many people don't find the suggestion from others to "focus on the positive and pleasant rather than the negative" works for them. However, if you were reprimanded by your boss in your office, and this reprimand almost made you lose your job, it is very possible that every subsequent day you feel fear that this will happen again and you will be unemployed, so you will never forget this event again, instead of focusing on the opportunity you could see in the reason for the reprimand to learn and not commit it again, thus keeping your job and bettering yourself every day.
The Ohio State University has conducted research whose results affirm that, when a group of people were shown an image of two people caressing each other and another one illustrating a negative situation, they remembered the negative image more than the positive one. This is due to the fact that there is a greater activity in our brain in the appreciation of negative facts, having, in addition, a greater impact on retention.
But why should the focus be on learning from the negative?
It is very true that we can learn from good experiences, however, it is from negative experiences that we usually obtain greater learning opportunities. What causes us pain, we usually avoid. Many people almost always learn more when something brought them more bad consequences than good ones.
If the brain is programmed to focus on the negative, it is because it is trying to enable us to adapt to increasingly difficult environments. Many consider this fact to be an instinct acquired from ancestors. Others take a different view. For example, a study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania in 2000 showed that, although this was an instinct that allowed survival in the past, today it does not serve the same purpose, and asserts that, currently, there may be threats in our environment, perhaps not as in the past, however, the brain continues to act the same way.
Experts such as Rick Hanson, a neuropsychologist at the University of California, affirm that the structure of our brain uses about two thirds of neurons in order to distinguish negativity, storing it later in long-term memory.
A large part of our experiences during childhood and adulthood remain accumulated in the brain for us to act on each event. Nevertheless, it is necessary to deactivate this tendency to negativity. Therefore, if we know that our brain focuses on the negative, we can work on persuading it to focus on stimuli other than irrational or unfavorable ones. This will lead us to avoid stress and anxiety.
We could, for example, start by identifying the threats and fears we perceive on a daily basis, consider whether they are rational or not, and develop appropriate mechanisms to proactively combat those fears and threats. The key lies in maintaining a balance, not in the tendency to focus on what causes us fear, pain, despair, as we can also develop focus and attention on the positive and indulge in it. In simple words, this involves identifying unproductive thoughts and replacing them with healthier ones, which is a commitment to observe every thought that passes through our mind.
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