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Inspiration

The positivity habit

he song Keep on the Sunny Side came to mind and friends, or other uplifting things—comes in. It means
today. It was first popularized by the Carter developing a positivity habit, which can be done in several
Family in the early 20th century and later fea- ways. Here are some ideas:
T tured in the 2000 movie O Brother, Where Art
Thou. It is a welcome reminder to not feed into the drama • Express gratitude at least once a day. There are
and discord prevalent in these times. Humming snippets various ways to do this. You could keep a gratitude
of that tune gets me sitting up a bit straighter, lifting my journal, for one, or have a standing phone call with
mood. a buddy for exchanging thoughts on what you
appreciate in your lives that day.
That example might be too homespun for you, but there are
plenty of other songs, poems, books, movies and positive • Tune out all sources of news for a portion of each
developments that can do the same thing. And right now day. That means social networking platforms, TV,
seeking to bring out smiles is a smart move. internet and radio news; articles that pop up in your
phone's news feeds; email alerts; etc.
Why is that?
• When something good happens, pay attention.
Throughout human evolution, being alert to negative Don't just gloss over it. Acknowledge and celebrate
events that could harm us has been a major factor in our it, even if it seems small at the time. The benefits of
ability to survive. We are predisposed to notice and react savoring small positives accrue over time.
to negative developments.
• Look for uplifting programming. Don't
GoZen founder Renee Jain discussed this in 2017. "Think immediately fall into shows like Tiger King. Balance
about cavemen who went out gathering food for their the programming you consume.
families," she wrote. "Those who survived did so because
they were sharply attuned to attacks from saber-toothed • Get plenty of rest. It helps to go to bed at about the
same time most nights and avoid looking at any of
cats lurking in the bush. In modern times, we don't have
a regular need to run from predators, yet what remains your device screens directly before turning in.
with us is an evolutionary imprint called the negativity • Have regular contact with people who bring you
bias." joy. No need to expound on that.

According to Jain, some researchers posit that, So remember, humans are hardwired to overestimate the
psychologically speaking, negative events weigh close to power of perceived threats. If you become distracted by
three times more than positive events. "While this bias something negative, it is likely not as awful as it may seem
may serve us in situations related to survival, it can cause in the moment. Take action to put your mind on something
distress in everyday encounters," she noted. good.

What to do?
The issue then becomes, what can we do about this? That's
where consciously focusing on positive things—whether
they're happy songs, notes of appreciation from colleagues
Kate Gillespie, President and CEO
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