Overcome Negativity Bias
The last month has presented us with the stress, insecurity, limitations and health threats of life during a global pandemic and the racism, murders, riots and police escalation of life in the United States of America. Responses range from complacency to fury, acceptance to resistance, silence to uproar and ignorance to ingenuity. I advocate for transformation and am proud of the amplification of voices proclaiming that Black Lives Matter and actions of individuals and organizations mobilized in strategic action against the racism, systematic and systemic oppression that has traumatized black people and diminished us all for far too long.
As a student of communication and the brain, I see the propensity towards negativity bias on front stage in the proliferation and consumption of media of all forms. We consume hours of disturbing footage on perpetual loops as we scroll Instagram and glue ourselves to television screens to stay informed. We take it all in, speak out and act to help, yet an ominous sense of negativity remains. This is by design.
As a means of survival, human brains give higher precedence to seek, react to, and remember negative information up to five times more strongly than positive information. Remembering what berries and snakes were poisonous helped our ancestors stay alive more so than remembering any neutral or positive experiences of daily life; and they passed that quality on to us. In our modern lives, even when positive information benefits our well-being, feels pleasurable and is of equal intensity to something negative, harmful, or uncomfortable, our brains will prioritize and promote negative over positive. For a visual, consider the size of basketballs and golf balls. You can fit a golf ball into a basketball five times over. Our brains are wired to perceive negative and positive information on a similar scale, but with awareness, we can direct them to think differently for our overall health, comfort and best interests. To do so:
Be aware of negativity bias as you consume news and media of all forms.
Be aware of negativity bias as you engage in conversations about peoples’ responses to the pandemic, racial violence and trauma.
Be aware of negativity bias of thoughts running through your mind as you lay awake at night unable to rest.
Be aware of negativity bias as you evaluate different aspects of your life and struggle to find solutions or hope.
As a strategy to keep my mind sane and immunity up, I apply a five to one ratio of positive versus negative information I consciously consume. This looks like me listening to, interacting with and reading up to five hours of content related to my goals, wellness and actions to move antiracist initiatives forward to every one hour I spend consuming media to keep myself informed.
There are many resources available to educate yourself and support your emotional health as you protest and live through this time of unprecedented change. Here are ones that help me and I hope will help you, too:
How to Stay as Safe as Possible While You Protest
How to stay positive for your children when you feel overwhelmed
How to Help Protests from Home
Black Lives Matter Global Network
Keshawn Hughes is a strategic communicator, wellness advocate and neuroscience enthusiast. She helps individuals and organizations improve their lives and business outcomes by providing practical methods and data-based principles along with lessons from her own personal and professional development journey. Schedule a Coaching Discovery Call with Keshawn and learn more ways to optimize your life at keshawnhughes.com