#67 Are You A Negative Nellie?

Are you a negative person?

Did you know that 80% of the thoughts you think each day tend to be negative and that 95% of your daily thoughts are repetitive thoughts? Okay!! So let's think about this, if 80% of what you think is negative and 95% of your thoughts are repetitive that means that your brain is swimming or better yet drowning in negative thoughts.

So,stop for a minute and think about your thoughts, like really think about them. Do you see how your thoughts tend to be more negative than positive? Can you recognize thoughts like these?

It isn't going to work.

She's a much better mom.

I'm probably going to get fired.

My kids don't need me anymore.

I bet they are talking about me.

Life is so hard.

The world is falling apart.

Can you relate to these thoughts or do you have similar negative thoughts bouncing around in your head? Negative thoughts may seem true on the surface, but they overlook the positive things that are also happening underneath. But even more importantly, those negative thoughts are usually not true.

When you take a look at them, they are usually not the truth. Now, you may be wondering why your brain leans towards the negative more than the positive. It is because negativity bias has been around for thousands of years. Until modern times, humans had to worry about immediate threats, like a lion waiting to devour them. They had to survive by hunting for food and protect themselves from other dangers that threaten their survival. The human brain and body adapted to these threats and the result is the brain is constantly searching for anything that might go wrong. It is your brain's job to be on the lookout for things that could hurt or harm you.

You can say that our ancestors develop negativity bias to simply survive. We now live in a world where there isn't a wild beast hiding behind the bushes, ready to pounce on us and most of us have access to plenty of food to survive, but your brain continues to focus on the negative for survival.

It is crucial to have an awareness that you tend to think many more negative thoughts than positive thoughts.

Can you relate this to the Israelites wandering around the desert. They had just been saved from slavery yet they found themselves stuck. As they wandered around the desert, all they were able to see were they things that appeared to be going wrong, they complained about everything. They worried about their food.

Even though, each day, God allowed bread to rain down from heaven in the perfect amount for them. God told them to take exactly what they needed and to take a double portion on the Sabbath. This happened day after day, yet each day, they worried and complained about what they were going to eat the next day.

Instead of allowing themselves to see the abundance of bread and God's love, they only saw a lack and focused on what might go wrong tomorrow or next week or the next month. So my friend, why is it important to know that your brain tends to be negative? Because negativity bias, significantly impacts how you make decisions, how you motivate yourself and it impacts your interactions with others. 

Listen to the entire podcast to learn more about how the negativity bias shows up in your life!

Jennie is a Catholic speaker, Life Coach, Podcaster, Weekly Radio Show Host on Nashville Catholic Radio, and founder of Catholic Moms in the Middle. After 26 years of working in Catholic education, Jennie felt God calling her "to step out of the boat" to serve in a new way. In her new ministry as a Catholic Life Coach, she now equips and encourages middle-life moms to reconnect with who they are and their unique God-given purpose so they can MAGNIFY Christ in their corner of the world.