More than Survival

Consider the following scenario: you post a photo to social media, and it performs better than you expected, garnering significant attention and outperforming many of your previous posts. A number of your followers even comment supportively.

Checking the post a couple days later, you see that there are hundreds of admiring comments, but then you scroll to find one that reads, "This is such a boring photo. You should just stop posting." You don't even personally know the individual who wrote this, but for some reason those are the words that stick with you for the next few hours, perhaps even days, seemingly wiping away the positivity of the other statements.

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Why Does This Happen?

The brain is subject to negativity bias, which predisposes it to focus on the negative over the positive. Especially when one is younger, focusing on negative stimuli, which could threaten survival, provides an evolutionary advantage. Noticing, and being vigilant about defending against, dangers in one's environment allows for the avoidance of an early demise. Put another, more vivid, way, running away from stampeding rhinos is more important to survival than luxuriating in how delicious a freshly-picked apple is.

The main problem with negativity bias is that it creates a life in which people's main goal is to avoid death, as opposed to enjoy life. This is problematic for a number of reasons, including the fact that this mindset ignores the importance of having fun.

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Having Fun

Statements like "Live in the moment" can feel a bit trite, but there is value in the sentiment expressed: taking a break from overthinking past and future events, and having fun, is essential to living a good life. The psychological benefits of having fun include lower stress and improved mood, but there isn't the need to complicate the discussion this much. As Yale University's Professor Alfred Guy said, "If something is fun, you don't have to analyze it further."

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Busting negativity bias is as simple as taking a few minutes to appreciate a gorgeous sunrise, enjoy a drink or coffee with loved ones, pet a puppy, or listen to a good song. There is a reason that animals take time to play, and so perhaps we need to learn a lesson from them in order to make our fundamental view of life about more than just survival.