It Takes Effort to Train Your Brain to Think Positive. Damn.
There’s some research that indicates we’re hardwired to default to negative thoughts . Which is neat, because I found that article when I was having negative thoughts about a work-related email that irritated me and so I started surfing the net, found it, read the headline, then proceeding to feed my negativity with more net surfing. That’s old me behavior I haven’t completely shaken. Old me rationalizes that the best way to deal with unreasonable anger at an email is to try to ignore it through distraction. A quick fix that worked in the past (not really) so why screw with something that works (not really), right? Stupid.
New me tries to take the time to read that article and follow the advice within, which is:
- Catch the negative thinking,
- Think of something positive, such as a moment of gratitude and
- Embrace that thought for a minute.
“Try it once a day, every day for a week, and see what happens.” That’s how the article ends. With work. I’m trying to put in the work. I sometimes suck at it. Sometimes I’m pretty good. Old me would take the easy way which never led anywhere positive. Today I try the work. Hopefully it leads somewhere different and that’s the point.