Take your gratitude practice to the next level through acts of kindness, being thankful, and savoring the little things in life.
Neuroplasticity: Rewiring the brain
As the saying goes, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural connections. This “rewiring” effect can lead to positive growth and change.
When the brain’s circuits get caught up in negative narratives, your thoughts might skew toward the negative. There may be some reasons for this.
Negativity bias
The negativity bias is our tendency to be more attracted to negative stimuli than positive — which is evident in the way we’re drawn more to negative headlines than positive ones.
“But we can move beyond that negativity bias and begin to pay more attention to the positive aspects in our life,” Hoelterhoff says.
According to Martin Seligman, renowned positive psychology theorist and director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, one way to change your mindset is by savoring.
When we hear a positive news story, have a positive thought, or receive positive feedback, Seligman recommends taking time to reflect on it.
“It’s that savoring approach that begins to create a new brain circuitry — a new neural network that’s geared toward looking for the positive,” says Hoelterhoff.
Positivity offset
By contrast, the positivity offset occurs when we interpret neutral situations as mildly positive.
If most people feel mildly positive in response to neutral situations, we can draw from that in the face of negative situations and try to shift our focus toward something positive.
“In reality, the simplest and most practical way to rewire your brain for positive thinking is to take the time to reflect, be grateful, and be aware of the positive things in your life.
Neuroplasticity: Rewiring the brain
As the saying goes, “Neurons that fire together, wire together.”
Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new neural connections. This “rewiring” effect can lead to positive growth and change.
When the brain’s circuits get caught up in negative narratives, your thoughts might skew toward the negative. There may be some reasons for this.
Negativity bias
The negativity bias is our tendency to be more attracted to negative stimuli than positive — which is evident in the way we’re drawn more to negative headlines than positive ones.
“But we can move beyond that negativity bias and begin to pay more attention to the positive aspects in our life,” Hoelterhoff says.
According to Martin Seligman, renowned positive psychology theorist and director of the Penn Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, one way to change your mindset is by savoring.
When we hear a positive news story, have a positive thought, or receive positive feedback, Seligman recommends taking time to reflect on it.
“It’s that savoring approach that begins to create a new brain circuitry — a new neural network that’s geared toward looking for the positive,” says Hoelterhoff.
Positivity offset
By contrast, the positivity offset occurs when we interpret neutral situations as mildly positive.
If most people feel mildly positive in response to neutral situations, we can draw from that in the face of negative situations and try to shift our focus toward something positive.
“In reality, the simplest and most practical way to rewire your brain for positive thinking is to take the time to reflect, be grateful, and be aware of the positive things in your life.