Optimism: your choice

This post is inspired by Tony Schwartz’s article “Overcoming Your Negativity Bias,” which was published in The New York Times earlier this month.

Notice the headline of Tony Schwartz’ article.

The writer uses the possessive determiner “your” to denote that negativity bias is an individual’s plague. In the headline alone, Schwartz tells readers that the power to overcome negativity bias lies in the self.

Negativity bias makes us notice negativity more than positivity.  We tend to believe in the worst of things, causing our negative thoughts to confine us and prevent us from being productive. As a college student, my negative thoughts are trivial, but relatively relatable: Yeah, I need to study for my test tomorrow, but gosh, I did really bad last time, and it’s probably going to happen again, so why do I bother, maybe I should start doing my laundry, but what if the machines are full and then I’ll have to wait for everyone to finish and – has it already been two hours? This familiar stream of consciousness is simply frustrating!

I’ve realized that I tend to use negativity bias as a defense mechanism. It sounds logical at first: I want to be rational about circumstances, so I use my thoughts as motivators. I prepare myself by thinking of the worst, possible situations, therefore I believe can face anything. Well, I’ve been wrong a lot of times, because that “worst, possible situation,” or what was once hypothetical, becomes real to me. I take the “if” out of the equation.

In his piece, Schwartz interestingly noted that negativity bias is hard to overcome because many people don’t notice that they have negativity bias. “The problem is that we grow up in a world that doesn’t value the training of attention or the capacity to cultivate specific emotions,” Schwartz wrote. I interpret this sentence to say that we are no longer taught to be introspective. The ability to focus on ourselves is disrupted by the external activities that hold pseudo-significance. Emotions have been ranked below rationality. Sometimes we are too busy worrying about what other people think (want, say, etc.) that we forget about ourselves. The expectation of others is tyranny over our introspection; therefore we lose control over our own thoughts.

It is time to become introspective once more.

In his piece, Schwartz advised us to focus more on positivity. Oftentimes, physically removing yourself from a moment of negativity can be a great solution. Whenever I feel stressed, I decide to go for a walk or relax in a local coffee shop—anything to divert my thoughts. When I sit back down I feel significantly relaxed and I am no longer burdened by my thoughts.

In fact, reading this post—or reading “Contagious Optimism”—is another way to overcome negativity bias. By allowing yourself to listen and accept other people’s stories of struggles and success, you expose yourself to more positive thoughts. It is my belief that if you hold onto optimism, you’ll get results.

How will you deal with your negativity bias?