Can you do with a little more happiness in your life?
Here are a few ideas that will help you become a much happier person.
You might have noticed that the brain is attracted much more quickly to negative events and circumstances than to positive ones. The brain tends to have a bias for the negative. Some neuroscientists say that the brain is a magnet for the negative.
If, for example, your boss praises you to the skies for writing a brilliant report, but causally suggests that you might have used a bigger font, guess what will be going through your mind for the rest of the day?
You will not only be cursing yourself for being so dumb to use the font you did, but you will be angry with yourself for having written a terrible report. The words of praise for the brilliant reports have been ignored by the brain in its effort to clings tightly to any negative items within its reach.
How do you overcome this negativity bias that the brain maintains as its default mode? Many have tried to be more positive but the affinity for the negative persists.
The only way to interfere with this passionate love affair between the brain and negative events or circumstances is to retrain the brain. This means that you have to increase your awareness of what you think, say or do by changing the way you look at the events and circumstances of your life. Actually, you can use the circumstances and events in your life as cues to initiate brain training.
First make it your duty to guard your mind with more diligence. Raising the level of your awareness and living more consciously will help.
Whenever a negative thought comes to you, notice it and dismiss it quickly before it has time to take root. Dismiss negative impulses, events or experiences as rapidly as possible and welcome with relish any pleasant or positive experiences that come your way.
Make it a habit of noticing the parts of your body that feel normal. If your knee hurts, notice with excitement and gratitude that your right hand feels good and celebrate that in the brain. Let your emphasis of the positive be so powerful that the brain has to let go of the negative and take note.
Savour every positive experience with such enthusiasm that it will expand and take over the impulses of your brain. Begin a mission of noticing and emphasizing what’s good in your life. These techniques will increase your daily happiness.
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