The Power of Positivity

People in general love bad news.

According to psychologist John T. Cacioppo, Ph.D. of Ohio State University, negative news takes the centre stage more than positive news mainly due to the brain’s ‘negativity bias’ (Psychology Today, 2016).

“Your brain is simply built with a greater sensitivity to unpleasant news. The bias is so automatic that it can be detected at the earliest stage of the brain’s information processing.” – John T. Cacioppo

Quite similar to all good contributions ever made can be overwritten by one silly mistake, one bad news can spread virally like a disease. Likewise, one bad moment is capable to influencing the purpose of a blog.

When I started blogging, it was too easy to write about how much anger, hate, and fed up I felt in my life than to value amazing happenings. When my fingers start punching the keyboard, I could go on forever until I’m done depositing my complaints. Months later when I revisited my post, I couldn’t believe what I wrote and felt horrible. It was shocking to find how my mind could cook up crazy words I never thought I would have used.

People generally find it easier to write negative remarks or comments simply because it doesn’t cost much to spare a negative thought which is highly excessive in supply.

A negativity bias, of course! 

I revisited my posts a few times until I came to a realisation point that my blog did not serve any purpose to myself apart from a pillow punching medium for short-term relief  and a constant reminder of detestation moments. There were bunch of episodes. I was embarrassed – Hey, does anyone read any of these? 

Just as many might have channelled their emotions on Facebook subconsciously, I might have done so through my personal blog, literally turned my blog into a complaint centre over time – I shut it down after.

I restarted this new blog last year (3 years after) – I wanted to revive my writing skills. I wanted to explore different approaches to writing, and to connect with other writers and readers for feedback and new ideas. I absolutely love what I’ve gained so far, and looking forward for more to come! Instead of stacking a chunk of bad thoughts, I would love to build an empire of good thoughts and celebrate positive learnings over time.

I mean, why should we allow negative energy to overtake the power of positivity?

Imagine if we could gradually turn negativity bias into positivity bias – the change we could all make would be epic! Besides, positive vibes can only lead to long term happiness – who doesn’t want it?

Photo by Nick Morrison