thoughts,	emotions,	and	interactions	have	a	greater	impact	on	how	we	feel
than	do	positive	or	neutral	events.	In	fact,	research	shows	that	people	are
much	better	at	remembering	negative	versus	positive	things,	including	angry
versus	happy	faces,	and	take	more	time	and	mental	energy	processing
negative	events	than	positive	ones.	This	bias	is	part	of	our	evolutionary
wiring.	From	a	survival	standpoint,	the	cost	of	overlooking	a	negative	is	far
greater	than	the	cost	of	overlooking	a	positive.	Consider	the	early	man	who
overlooks	a	bush	loaded	with	edible	berries.	He	will	probably	survive	the
mistake,	but	if	he	fails	to	look	over	his	shoulder	to	see	a	stalking	wolf	pack,
he	may	not.
You	can	see	how	negativity	bias	helped	our	ancestors	survive.	But	in
today’s	world,	when	few	of	us	face	real	threats	in	our	daily	lives,	this	bias	can
result	in	
lots
	
of	needless—and	exhausting—worry.	When	we	become	overly
anxious,	the	negativity	bias	is	often	the	behind-the-scenes	culprit.	We	scan
our	environment	and	ourselves	for	possible	threats	and	then,	without
thoughtful	reflection,	make	improbable	forecasts	of	bad	outcomes.
You	can	break	away	from	the	habitually	unhelpful	ways	you	see	yourself