A few years ago I went through a pretty tough phase, with both my personal and my professional life taking a hit at the same time. It became very easy to go down a spiral of negativity and I knew that I had to find a way to break out of this cycle
As humans we are programmed to be more senstive to negative things – as it has some clear evolutionary benefits. If you worry about a tiger roaming around the village and no tiger shows up, no big harm. However, if you underestimate the risk and a tiger does show up, you might be dead.
The fancy scientific term is “negativity bias” and is defined as “notion that, even when of equal intensity, things of a more negative nature (e.g. unpleasant thoughts, emotions, or social interactions) have a greater effect on one’s psychological state and processes than neutral or positive things.”
But the good news is that we are not doomed to spend our lives proccupied by what has or could go wrong. You can actually train your brain to see the positives around you.
What I have been doing every day since I found myself in that situation all those years ago, is to keep a daily journal where I write down three things I am grateful for in the morning as well as at least three great things that happened to me that day in the evening. These can be small things, like being fit and healthy, or really big things, like winning medals at the Swiss Champs.
And it’s not just me for whom gratitude journaling works. Studies have shown that among other benefits it helps people sleep better, lower stress and improve interpersonal relationships [1].
So maybe as a New Year’s Resolution, you might want give it a try as well – it doesn’t take a lot of time and it can pay big dividends. I would recommend to really write it down, not just think about it – and yes, there are apps for this š
Dr. Eva-Maria Hempe 