Being Positive as the Currents of Life Pull You Down

Have you noticed that when your mind is left to wander, it seems to arrive at some unpleasant thought, like when you felt insulted by your friend or when you forgot your spouse’s birthday?  Why does our mind do that?  It is part of the survival mechanism of the mind, to hold on to negative thoughts.  The mind does this to make sure that we don’t re-expose ourselves to negative experiences the future.  So when someone insults you, your mind is more likely to dwell on that, than it is to dwell on a happy experience.  In this way, you are constantly reminded to avoid the negative experience in the future.   This is called the negativity bias.  When the body and mind are in survival mode, the negativity survival instinct is kicked into full gear.  If we understand this about our minds, then we can appreciate the importance of focusing on positive events.  

One common argument against focusing on the positive is that it is denying the truth, being naive, or not ‘being real.’  The reality is, though, that like the ocean’s currents, the negativity currents of the mind will pull your thoughts toward the negative.  And if you don’t pull them back, the ‘real’ ideas you have about the world won’t be that real at all. Through no fault of your own, you may find yourself in a negative mental space.

One practice that could be helpful, is to write down one positive experience that happened in the last 24 hours, everyday before you go to bed.  You can allow yourself 5-10 minutes for this exercise.  It may be hard to think of a positive experience at first.  But as you continue the practice, you’ll find that you live your day focused on finding positive experiences to write about at night.