NOTES FROM THE AWARENESS: 833

Where is your focus?

It’s easier, in any given moment, to think about what isn’t working. Our natural mental bias is to look for pain points or danger. It’s a basic survival mechanism.

When, from our perspective, something goes wrong, we tend to dwell on it, reinforcing the impact of its awfulness in our mind. We store memory after memory, thought after thought, about our pain, fear, anger, or discomfort.

When something pleases us, we may enjoy it in the moment and then move on to the next thing. We don’t tend to ruminate in our pleasure, that’s not an inborn survival tactic. And yet, that may very well be part of the route to being happier.

When we give ourselves time—at least 10 to 15 seconds—to rehash and savor something that went well, perhaps even really well, we allow more of our pleasure and its biochemical markers to shape our brain. We encourage our brain, one pleasurable memory at a time, to look for the good in life.

Today’s message cheerleads me to spending more time focusing on what is working. When I focus what does make me happy, in any given moment, I’m teaching myself how to be overall happier.

Please reflect and share. What good thing can you focus on right now?