Mindful Monday: Focus on the Positive

This article by Dr. Marlynn Wei from Psychology Today focuses on retraining your mind to focus on the positive.

“There is a tendency in medicine to start with what’s wrong. After all, most of us go see a doctor because we feel like something is “wrong.” And it is important not to minimize that for many people, suffering is the primary reason that they seek help—and an important goal of treatment should be to reduce that suffering. But, is it also possible, along with that goal, to hope for more? Can there also be room to wonder and be curious about what makes us each unique and beautiful individuals?

We are set up to pay more attention to negative events or characteristics. Our brain processes negative emotions far more than positive emotions. We ruminate more on things that went wrong or were stressful than happy memories. This negativity bias causes us hold onto things that are troubling and to forget about happy experiences more quickly.

But what if we retrained ourselves? Focusing on our strengths, compassion, social connection, and community allows us to heal.”

She continues to present questions to ask yourself regarding 10 areas of your life including love, kindness, resilience, hope, courage, spirituality, gratitude, friends & family, community, and individuality – all of which are designed to help you refocus your mind on the positive aspects of your life in order to “make room for wellness within illness.”