Growing the Good: Mindfulness Skills for Hardwiring Happiness

Growing the Good: Mindfulness Skills for Hardwiring Happiness

Why is it that we tend to identify the negative or difficult aspects of our day-to-day experience more easily than the positive or pleasant aspects?  According to psychologist and best-selling author Rick Hanson, we are wired with a that temporarily helps us survive in harsh conditions. This means that we are frequently thinking about perceived threats and imagining how we will respond to them (should they ever occur). According to Hanson "the brain is tilted toward survival but against long-term health and well-being." All this focus on the negative can affect our physical and emotional health because we release more stress hormones, like cortisol.  And the positive experiences that we encounter throughout the day?  They tend to drift by, maybe momentarily noticed, and are then pushed aside by the next perceived threat.negativity bias 

 Now, the good news: with intention, attention, and practice we can notice more positive experiences, enrich…