Let there be a Positivity Bias!

One of the things that had been bothering me for quite a while – why is there so much negativity in everything that we see around us?

I was wondering – Is there anything wrong with me? Am I picking up only negative things? While I was trying to move out of this thought, albeit the difficulty – it led me to introspect and also look at things around me a little more objectively.

If you look at the general News channels or News papers – you’d find most of the news items or topics are by default negative. Why?

A research paper of the early 2000 suggested that 53.4% of the news on television alone depicts violence, conflict and suffering. It was suggested that worse the report, the more likely it is to be the lead story, as humans are generally naturally attracted to bad news.

The news reporters are trained and told to cover negative reports more effectively as that would definitely bring in more viewership to the channel. Yes, that’s the world that we live in.

The percentage could be much higher now.

Humans apparently pay more attention and give more weight to negative rather than positive experiences, and this phenomenon is more commonly known as the “negativity bias”. This negative bias is inherently present in all human beings.

The same philosophy holds true for what goes on in your mind.

Every human being is a bundle of energy. Check if your energy level is positive side or on the negative. Of course you can feel it. Positive energy field feels like joy, peace, love, light feeling, nil resistance etc. Negative energy field feels like depression, anger, powerlessness and despondency. Negative energies always stem from fear.

It is said that negative energies attract a negative reality. For example, if you are depressed, you end up attracting more reasons and situations to feel depressed about. This seems highly unfair to the “Me” that life should be so screwed up as to give more depression to a person who is already depressed. Why only me syndrome? God is not kind?  I am sure many of us have gone through these thoughts at some point in time. As per scientists & philosophers - The law of attraction is the operating principle of creation in this universe. Mind creates reality by “attracting” it.

Can’t positive images, news, reports, experiences be long lasting and more powerful? Yes it could be. 

But the fact is that the brain reacts to negative stimuli with a greater surge in electrical activity. Due to this lightening surge, our perceptions, reactions and behaviours are more strongly influenced by negative stuff than the positive ones.

Empirical data and research says that it takes at least five positive experiences to counter one negative one. Perhaps this is the reason for more pessimism, anxiety, discouragement and depression in many parts of the world.

Positive or negative vibes have their own ripple effects. If I tell someone who is greeting me, how sad I am  generally, he picks up the negative vibes and I wont be surprised if we both finally end up wallowing in grief! Not worth in the long run.

Some people have the habit of underplaying their happiness with a worry that if the other person knows how happy you are, then a factor jealousy might creep in. However that’s not the case. Knowingly or unknowingly, by feeding attention to these negative sentiments, sadly you make them stronger.

Moreover, the universal force does not just respond to your “Words” it responds to the “Energy” behind the words.

We should consciously learn to spread the energy of happiness. Yes it has its ripple effect.  And the happiness thus spread will come back to oneself manifold.

Try to create positive behavioural patterns and thinking. Your mind gets conditioned to the positivity. Remember the 5:1 philosophy! For a marriage to be stable, create five positive experiences to counter one negative influence or conflict.

You now know the secret :)

Stay positive. Stay Cheerful!

Rights And Duties

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन।
मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि॥

Karmanye Vadhikaraste, Ma phaleshou kada chana – You have the right to perform your actions,but you are not entitled to the fruits of the actions.

Ma Karma Phala Hetur Bhurmatey Sangostva Akarmani – Do not let the fruit be the purpose of your actions, and therefore you won’t be attached to not doing your duty.

-          The Bhagavad Gita.

I suddenly got reminded of an incident in an earlier organisation that I worked for. I was working on a very big project all by myself. It was a huge deal and I had gone through lots of ups and downs during the process of negotiations and a host of other meetings with that customer. The deal was very important for me for my career(as I had thought then) – not just because I had never struck a deal of that size and that too at that very young age, but also was very important for the organisation too for the visibility and the recognition the deal could bring. The top management were also considerate enough in giving me a helping hand to make it a success considering my passion and fervour for the project.

Yet there was a huge pressure on myself. While going through all the stress during this process – I went to my then boss’s cabin and told him just this – I hope we get this order soon!

My boss gave a classic reaction to this. He instantly told me “I am not a believer of God. I am an atheist. But I believe in the Bhagavad Gita. You have done your job extremely well. Do not worry about the outcome. Keep giving your best”. These words motivated me hard and I put in my good efforts still further. It became incidental that I got the deal. But those words are still etched in my memory.

I was in a Zen mood yesterday. I happened to listen to some nice songs. One song struck a fine chord in me, which was a Bhajan in Tamil that gave beautiful summary of the Bhagavad Gita. It immediately struck me that my mom used to sing that song as a lullaby everynight when I was a kid. It brought a nice smile on my face.  And to listen to that song now was not just nostalgic, but it also came laced with a subtle message of what I should do in a particular situation. Perhaps my mom had brought me up instilling this message in me.

So, why was I confused in taking a decision? There was a tricky situation in the office yesterday and I was expected to take a decision. There were two aspects to the decision. On one hand there was an emotional backlog that prevented me to go forward. On the other hand the situation demanded a harder stand. A sudden confusion!

But then, as they say, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. Perhaps, there was a reason behind the confusion. There was a reason behind my feeling Zen. A reason behind the particular song. And a reason behind my remembering my conversation with my ex-boss.

Interesting! It became clearer to me as to how to proceed further. I think I have my Credo in place now. 

By the way, are you confused too?

Some people do the best work when led. Not everyone is born to lead. The best leader, however, is one who 'leads like the baby'. The baby, though apparently depending on everyone, is the king of the household. At least, to my thinking, that is the secret ... -Swami Vivekananda, CW, 8:428