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Human beings have negativity bias, which means that we are all more sensitive to negative information than positive news. What this means, in practice, is that, for example, we will focus more on a single piece of criticism than we do on several compliments.

Negativity tends to command our attention more and stick with us for longer.

Focusing on negativity, flaws, threats, and risks is our brain’s way of keeping us safe. It helped our ancestors survive potential dangers, but it can be exhausting for us in our day-to-day lives. If you chronically ruminate on just negative thoughts, you will hurt your mental health and strain your relationships.

This is why you need to put in deliberate effort to remind yourself that the world is not, in fact, just doom, gloom, selfishness, and evil. There’s a lot of altruism, love, and beauty out there, mixed in with the rest.

The main things that you can do to combat negativity bias in your daily routine are to:

1. Reduce negative self-talk;
2. Reframe the situation differently;
3. Establish new behavior patterns;
4. Distract yourself;
5. Savor positive moments.

Just keep in mind that behavioral changes and positive habits don’t appear overnight. These processes take time. You will face challenges and setbacks. You will (probably) be frustrated with yourself at some point. But with enough patience and focused effort, you’ll get there.

So, for instance, it is not unnatural to beat yourself up a little bit over making a dumb mistake. However, instead of fixating on those mistakes (you can’t change them), try to hone in on the lessons that you can learn (think about what you will do differently in the future).

Try to stop negative self-talk as soon as it begins. Cut off the overly negative train of thought before it can even leave the metaphorical station.

Reframing the events that have happened to you essentially means that you try to interpret things differently than you normally would. Specifically, you can try to focus on reframing your experiences in a more negative light.

That being said—and we can’t stress this enough—this does not mean living naively or ignoring potential dangers. You are simply trying to see things through a more objective lens, keeping in mind that human beings are hard-wired to hyperfocus on negativity.

You can try to consciously redirect your attention elsewhere when you notice yourself getting mired in negativity. For instance, you could distract yourself with a good book, some positive music, a funny video, a list of wholesome pics (hey!), or some pleasant activity that you enjoy.

When in doubt, go on a long walk, preferably in nature. Or reach out to a trusted friend or family member to distract yourself with some positive socializing.

Furthermore, it really helps to intentionally focus on savoring those positive moments as they pop up in your life. Later, replay those joyful moments in your mind.

“Because it takes more for positive experiences to be remembered, it is important to give extra attention to good things that happen. Where negative things might be quickly transferred and stored in your long-term memory, you need to make more of an effort to get the same effect from happy moments,” Verywell Mind stresses.

There are two instincts at odds in human life. On the one hand, you have selfish and greedy behavior, which pushes you to hoard resources for survival. On the other end of the scale, you have selfless behavior, which matches the idea that human beings are highly social animals living in complex societies. Altruism encourages you to embrace pro-social behavior that benefits your loved ones, group, and community, at your own expense.

In a sense, altruism can be both selfish and selfless. “In some sense, altruists put others’ interests ahead of their own—but giving to others often feels good and can result in longer-term gains for the giver. ‘Reciprocal altruism’ is a term used by scientists for helping that is sustained by an eventual payoff from the person that receives help,” Psychology Today explains.

And yet, this doesn’t change the fact that kindness is everywhere around you: the world is not dominated by just selfishness.

According to Psychology Today, some altruistic tendencies are innate and reactive, while others are learned as a part of being exposed to local cultures. “Many altruistic acts are reactive: Human beings respond compassionately when they see others in pain and in need of help.”

Some individuals, however, are so-called ‘extreme altruists’ and behave much more selflessly than their peers.

This is likely due to the differences in the size of their brains’ amygdala, their responsiveness to others’ distress, and influences from religious upbringing and socioeconomic status.

‘Heck This Is Wholesome’ has been brightening internet users’ lives since 2021, and the community has recently celebrated its 5th birthday.

Let us know what you think after you’ve looked through these pics and upvoted your favorite ones. Which of these images genuinely improved your mood?

What do you do to stay positive, optimistic, and hopeful, while keeping the cynicism, doomscrolling, and negativity at bay? How do you balance it out with a good, healthy dose of realism? Tell us what you think!