I’m beginning to think that human beings are hard wired to focus on what is wrong. We have high expectations of ourselves, others, and the world in general and these expectations set us up to feel disappointed when they don’t come true.
Our minds are programmed to always look for what is wrong or what is missing and this keeps us grounded in the negative. When we think negative thoughts we feel bad and are not as effective as we could be.
There are a lot of disappointed and unhappy people out there. Are you one of them?
Your mind will be full of thoughts no matter what you do, so you might as well make them good ones. By focusing on the positive you can actually re-program your mind to be more happy and productive.
How to Focus on What is Right in Your World
Shift Your Thoughts: Pay close attention to what you are thinking. When a negative thought comes up, simply shift it to something more positive, like someone you love or something that helps you feel peaceful. If nothing comes to mind, just picture little puppies or kittens. That usually works.
Question Persistent Negative Thoughts: Many of the thoughts we think are repetitive, just habitual patterns that were planted in our minds years before. Most are not even true.
When you notice ones that stick around, take them to your journal and ask yourself if you can know for sure they are true. Look for examples of times in your life when they weren’t and build evidence for breaking their hold on you.
Celebrate the Good: Focusing on gratitude can rewire your brain and change your life. There are many ways to celebrate the good stuff.
- Document magical moments
- Take pictures of what you find beautiful
- Look for heart or smile shapes around you
- Photograph or write about what touches your heart
- Write detailed descriptions of what you are grateful for
Make whatever you choose a daily practice and it will help rewire your brain and lift your spirits.
If you would like coaching support on this process, an issue in your life, or making a dream come true, I would love to talk to you. You can reach out to me here.
Related Posts:
Living a Life of Grace & Gratitude
Yes! This is something that melds wonderfully with a creative practice! One of my favorites is rewriting some of these outdated beliefs via Vision Cards – discovering an antidote to the old beliefs, and creating our own oracles!
That is a lovely idea.
Great post Linda. As a health coach, I too work with my clients on their thoughts. It’s the key toiling a healthy and happy life. Thanks!
Mary Ellen
Yes, it’s probably the most important thing we can do for our overall wellbeing.
You’re right, Linda, we are hard-wired for problems to get our attention first. It’s an important survival trait.
The things that are right are far less likely to kill or maim us than the things that are wrong, so that’s what our back-brain is set up to notice most urgently.
Our brain’s guideline seems to be: “better stressed than dead.” This positive trait can get out of balance, of course, causing us to bear off toward dread and despair at every turn. The thing is, seeing negatives is helping us but we can waaaaaay overdo it.
That’s why your advice is so crucial. We don’t need to be stuck in one response pattern to everything that comes along. And we don’t need to remember all our “wrong” turns and flail ourselves over it. If we can forgive ourselves for having a strong, over-eager survival trait, and just retrain it back into balance, life becomes much more comfortable. Even happy.
For the vast majority of our day we’re not under attack, but we don’t act like it. We need to let go of that. After all, we have a right to feel real joy during all that time when we’re not under attack. All we need to do is claim it.
After all, it’s our birthright.
Thanks Charles. You are always right on point.
I love your ideas and especially the suggestions to photograph favorites, look for heart shapes and document magical moments.
I’m sure there are many more creative ways to expand on this. Thank you for reading.