Objective: Focusing on the Present, Part 2 of 2
Practice combining present focus with positive focus. Overcome the mind’s tendency to migrate to negativity.
In this video:
- A reminder that the negativity bias nudges us with the ideas that negative feelings and events are more urgent and important than positive feelings and events.
- A story in which Jennifer applies the practice when her mind veers toward fearful negativity.
Key takeaways:
- Consciously choose to focus on the positive aspects of your experiences.
- Pause during positive moments to name them to yourself. This increases your awareness.
- Being present-focused has its own inherent positive feelings.
| Notes on Practice |
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| Listen to Jennifer’s story about seeing deer in Washington Park. She will describe how her mind took a positive experience and started to turn it into a negative experience. Recall in the last lesson, Jerald told a detailed story about making breakfast and all the positive and negative fluctuations. You will now have two examples of coping with negative reactions to circumstances. Jerald focused more on the yogurt he preferred and looked forward to getting more of it from the store and having it again. Jennifer refocuses on the original feelings associated with the deer and consciously turns her mind away from the reactions fueled by the negativity bias. |
| Reflection Question |
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| Think about the story Jennifer told about seeing deer in Washington park and about how her mind drifted into negativity. Can you think of a time when something similar happened to you? Do you have a happy memory that later got burdened by negativity? Could you go back and reclaim the happiness of that memory? |
“After you’re mindful in the present moment, then be aware of whether you are feeling positive or negative, and as much as possible, go for increasing the positive feelings, and try to keep yourself from being too negative.”
Jerald