Negativity Buffer

[BLAND - VIII]

If I get twenty positive emails and one nasty one, it’s the nasty one that has more immediate and lasting impact on my wellbeing. I think about it all day.

If I get five compliments on my presentation and one criticism . . . you already know where I’m going with this. I’m guessing you’re the same way. It’s the one criticism you remember, stew on, or obsess over.

It’s called the negativity bias. Things of a negative nature have a greater effect on us than those of a positive or neutral nature.

There is something I have found that dilutes the negativity bias: Producing your best work all the time. Our subconscious is aware when we do average things, at 50%, without beauty and charm, for people we don’t care about. If we don’t genuinely care about the work we are doing, we are more susceptible to negativity.

It pricks our ego.
It threatens our sense of security.

But if we do care, we build self-assurance by virtue of being intentional, caring, and giving to the world the best of what we have to offer. It’s a type of positive, internal buffer, to know (regardless of criticism!) that we are contributing something meaningful and beautiful to the world.

Try it. For a week. Or longer.