We Are More Prone to Being Unhappy
Approximate reading time 4 minutes
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So why and how can we overcome this?
One of the things I learned in my psychology classes that I can’t forget is that people tend to remember negative events more than positive ones. This is called “Negativity Bias.”
When I first heard this, I was filled with incredible anger and a single question came to mind: Why? Why do we treat ourselves this way? Why do we hold back when we could be more successful and happier? As our teacher continued to explain the lesson, I began to understand this phenomenon better. Our brain pays more attention to negative stimuli and stores them more permanently. In this way, our brain focuses on negative experiences and tries to learn from them. This process can lead to feelings of constant unhappiness and anxiety.
I learned that there are many reasons for this. First, I want to address the biological basis. The chemical balance in our brain has a big impact on unhappiness.
The imbalance of neurotransmitters, especially serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine, is at the root of emotional disorders such as depression and anxiety. Dysfunction of these neurotransmitters can affect individuals’ emotional states and make them more prone to unhappiness.
Another important reason is social and cultural factors. In modern society, people are generally encouraged to focus on external goals such as success, perfection and material well-being. This can lead to individuals feeling constantly under pressure to be “better”. Especially under the influence of social media, it is common for us to compare ourselves with others, with betters, and to feel inadequate. In addition, stress in work and family life, economic difficulties and social expectations can also increase unhappiness. As humans, we have complex emotional structures.
The traumas, worries and especially concerns about the future we experience greatly affect our mental state. Setting high goals, expectations from our environment and the disappointments we experience when we cannot achieve these goals are among the factors that reinforce our unhappiness.
Another important concept is “hedonic exhaustion”. I liken this situation to the concept commonly known as “comfort sinking”. Although people initially feel great happiness when they have a positive experience, they become accustomed to this experience over time and are no longer happy at the same level. In other words, as the standard of living increases, this standard is adapted to and the initial sense of happiness decreases over time. As a result, people constantly seek more satisfaction, but it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve a sustained sense of happiness.
We can deal with the negativity bias in different aspects of our lives, but in this article I would like to discuss how we can reduce the effects of this situation and be more successful, especially in business. One of the most important ways to use this bias in business is to consider negative experiences as a learning opportunity. If people usually focus on their mistakes and failures, we can use this bias to motivate ourselves to improve and be better.
When we cannot close a project or make a mistake, instead of seeing this event as just a failure, we can try to understand why we failed. By taking advantage of the negativity bias, you can learn from every mistake and turn these lessons into our future successes. In addition, Negative Bias can help us make more careful and strategic decisions in business life, as it increases our sensitivity to threats and negative situations.
Thinking about the potential negative aspects of an opportunity or risk can encourage us to plan more carefully and be prepared. However, the point we need to be careful about here is not to evaluate negative possibilities correctly and not to get overly anxious.
Our tendency towards negativity encourages us to focus on problems and solve them. Then, when faced with difficulties in business life, we can benefit from this tendency to focus on the problem and develop solution suggestions. When we encounter a problem, instead of just complaining, we can think about what we can do to solve the situation. This approach can also be useful in teamwork; focusing on a problem and developing a solution can strengthen your leadership skills and communication skills.
We can use being more sensitive to negative feedback as an opportunity to improve ourselves. Criticisms received at work can be an important tool to improve your performance. Instead of taking criticisms personally, we can use Negative Bias as a guide for our professional development. In this way, we can better understand our strengths and weaknesses and progress on the path to self-improvement.
When dealing with difficulties in business life, you can make your negativity tendency to make you more solution-oriented. People usually tend to exaggerate these problems when they encounter problems. However, addressing this problem with a negativity tendency and looking for the most effective solutions improves your problem-solving skills. At the same time, adopting different perspectives in the problem-solving process can help you find more creative and effective solutions. Negativity tendency increases our sensitivity to environmental factors.
This means being able to adapt more quickly to changing conditions in the business world. For example, you can recognize negative environmental factors such as industry changes or structural changes within the company and develop strategies accordingly. Being sensitive to such situations allows you to be flexible and adaptable in the business world. The negativity tendency sometimes leads individuals to evaluate their own performance and goals more seriously. This can be a significant advantage when setting personal goals in business life. By using the negativity tendency, you can set your goals more concretely and take the necessary steps to achieve these goals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can use our negativity tendency as an important tool for both our personal development and professional success in business life. This tendency can help us develop a careful and strategic approach, make better decisions, focus on solutions and constantly improve ourselves. Managing the negativity tendency correctly will help you become stronger and more successful in the business world, both individually and as a team.
