Power over the Story

A negativity bias is when you tell yourself that a negative outcome will happen. For example, if you are going on a long trip. You decide to hesitate because you believe that you will be killed in a car crash. Almost instantly, you get anxious. The level of anxiety could grow to the point where you actually believe that you will get in a car crash and be killed, so you cancel the trip. In this case, you didn’t base your decision on data but on a story you told. The good news is that you are in charge of the story you tell. For example, instead of saying I will be killed in a car crash, you can say, I am leaving at 7pm tomorrow, and right now, I am going to watch a movie on Netflix. Just ask yourself this question. How do I want to spend the next 15 minutes? Do I want to spend it watching a movie or creating anxiety about dying in a car crash? Then, pick which one you want? I don’t want to manufacture anxiety, so I select option one and watch a movie.