consider	the	roadblock	a	signal	of	your	growth	and	progress.	After	all,	if	you
were	still	stuck	doing	what	you’ve	always	been	doing,	you	wouldn’t	have
come	across	a	roadblock.	When	progress	on	the	anxiety-reduction	trail	stalls,
or	even	halts	completely,	it	means	you’ve	likely	progressed,	more	than	you
imagined,	and	that’s	why	the	setback	bothers	you.	Setbacks	are	part	of	your
brain’s	adjustment	process.	Keep	persisting,	don’t	give	up,	and	return	to	the
strategies	again	and	again.	It	will	pay	off.
Go
	
Deeper
Gratitude
Recognizing	what	we’re	thankful	for	increases	well-being,	contentment,
and	peace	of	mind.	The	negativity	bias,	as	we’ve	seen,	is	wired	into	our
brain	as	a	survival	mechanism.	We	tend	to	dwell	on,	relive,	and	attempt
to	problem	solve	the	negative	more	than	the	positive.	When	this	process
isn’t	buffered	by	joy	or	contentment,	we	become	more	anxious.
We	can	counter	the	negativity	bias	easily	and	in	only	a	few	minutes	a
day.	Adopt	a	daily	practice	of	identifying	two	or	three	things	that	you
appreciate.	You	can	write	these	in	your	notebook	or	internally	reflect	on
them.	What’s	important	is	to	bring	conscious	and	deliberate	attention	to