Negativity

We are programmed to be negative about everything,thats just how we humans were made. From a young age, we have always been told "dont eat that,dont touch that,dont look at that". We have always been told more "dont do this" than "do that",so we grow up always trying to find reasons not to do things instead of finding reasons to actually do things.Negativity is something that is necessary for our survival,to avert so many of the dangers that we encounter on a daily basis. Negativity is what prevents little kids from playing with dangerous things like fire and knives.If a little baby's first thought when seeing a fire was "it is nicely warm" instead of "it can burn and hurt me",so many injuries would be incurred as a consequence. Although it is necessary for survival, this mentality of finding the negatives in everything ends up sticking with us through our entire lives without us even noticing.

Whether we do it subconsciously or not, humans have a tendency of always finding the negatives first before the positives. This trait,which unfortunately evolution has not been able to get rid of (much like the appendix) has led to us not being able to fully enjoy most things we pursue because of that nagging "something will go wrong" feeling at the back of our minds. Most of our phobias are centered around this trait. Instead of rather appreciating the great view that comes with being atop a tall structure,we'd think about the million (and irrational) possibilities of falling from there,hence acrophobia . Instead of appreciating spiders as these cute little harmless insects who make cool webs,we would rather think of the many ways which they can hurt us,hence arachnophobia. The mentality even sticks with us when we are dealing with romantic relationships,choosing to rather be paranoid about the ways the other person may hurt us instead of falling in love with mind,body and soul.

Although we know that it is severely limiting our enjoyment of life,it is not easy if not impossible to bypass our yearning for negativity in everything. This is so because this trait is a part of our DNA. It is a reflex action that is essential for our survival so the best hing we can do really is to accept that negativity is part of human nature so instead of trying to get rid of it,which is impossible,the best thing we can do is work on averting it in situations where it is not necessary to find negatives. Just like we cannot help blinking when something comes close to our eyes,we cannot help but try to find the bad side of most things we do. The only thing we can do is to try to find if the negative perceptions you have are rational or not and if they are not,negate those thoughts.

So next time you see that harmless spider in your house,instead of grabbing the nearest shoe,remember that of the 43 000 species of spiders in the world,only 30 are poisonous to humans,and most of those are found in tropical climates. And next time you are atop that multiple storey building,appreciate the beautiful view and remember that the probability of that building falling with you inside is next to zero.Having a positive attitude starts off with the little things,then as time goes on,you will be able to integrate that positive attitude into your everyday life.