Look for the goodness

I have two trips to Melbourne in August, and I could not be more excited! The last time I was on a plane was on Sunday 15 March 2020.

I tweeted my excitement at dusting off the Qantas app for the first time in over two years, and the amount of negativity that came my way in response shocked me.

Negativity because I was using Qantas. Negativity about lost luggage.

Negativity about the high likelihood of flights being postponed or cancelled.

Only one respondent said to have fun, and that was tempered with a ‘stay healthy’.

All this negativity almost had me screaming for the hills! My positive-Pollyanna mindset went into shock.

And then I started thinking.

When did we default to negative?

Why don’t we automatically see the positive?

There’s actually a reason. And it’s called negativity bias.

The negativity bias is a cognitive bias that results in negative events having a more significant impact on our psychological state than positive events.

Psychologist Rick Hanson says, ‘Our brains are wired to scout for the bad stuff’ and fixate on the threat.

Negativity bias influences how we feel, think and act – and, apparently, how we respond on Twitter!

There is good news – negativity bias can be overcome.

According to Dr Kenneth Yeager, Director of STAR (Stress, Trauma, and Resilience) Program at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, you need to put effort into truly valuing all the good and positive aspects of your life so that you are not overcome by the negative. Even if you are going through a lot of negative situations, try to appreciate the positive aspects of life, regardless of how small they may be.

The next time something negative happens to you, try and re-frame it so you can see the positive.

And, at the very least, if someone else shares something exciting they are doing, be happy for them!

What negativity could you turn into a positive? I'd love to know.