Taking in the Good: Rewiring the Brain for Positivity
Modern mindfulness practices and therapies are imbued with rich Buddhist teachings and philosophies tracing back at least 2500 years. For those new to mindfulness, the general idea is to bring our awareness to the present moment with intention, nonjudgement and self-compassion.
You may be thinking, “I am always thinking about the present” or “I don’t have time to think about the now, I have deadlines and errands, and …”. You wouldn’t be alone if you feel this way – I think many of us do. In our fast-paced world we are focused on so many different external things in our lives: jobs, kids, friends, that-which-shall-not-be-named-19. On top of these, we humans have a tendency to dwell in the past or worry about the future.
Much of the time we are running on “auto-pilot”: zipping through our daily routines, moving from one thing to the next without much thought. And when the dust settles at the end of the day or we do have a quick moment where we check into the present, we may notice that our attention is directed towards the negative. This is what we call the negativity bias: paying more attention to negative experiences over neutral or positive ones. Our brain is actually wired to notice negative things because they may be a threat to our survival. And while this may be a bit of an outdated system, since we are not facing the same dangers our ancestors faced, negative things stick in our minds like Velcro.
So where does mindfulness come in? The primary aim of mindfulness practice is to reduce human psychological suffering by shifting our attention to the present moment so we can attend to “what’s coming up” and do so in a compassionate, gentle way. We can miss a lot when running on autopilot or when pushing away thoughts. What we tend to miss is how much stress may be building over the course of a day; what our emotional needs may be; and the pleasant things going on around us.
There is a lot going on right now in our world that has tested each of us in different ways. My hope with the following exercise is to support you to practice shifting attention to specific memories or moments of joy- big or small - and spending time sitting with the positive sensations, emotions and thoughts tied to these moments.
Taking in the Good is a mindfulness practice that involves intentionally shifting one’s awareness to positive experiences and spending time holding these in your mind. This is not always easy. This practice helps to strengthen pathways in our brain so that we begin noticing and reflecting on good things more easily, and thus have the opportunity to more mindfully live and relive pleasant experiences.
As with any skill, this takes practice! If you’re noticing difficulty when you start out – or on days where the cards feel stacked against you – know that you’re not alone. Do your best. And remember to be non-judgmental and self-compassionate.
The exercise below is sourced from the Mindfulness-Based Wellness curriculum developed by the Centre for Mindfulness Studies in Toronto and is an adaptation from neuropsychologist Dr. Rick Hanson’s research.
Taking in the Good Exercise
Step one: Think of a positive experience you have had recently (or, if this is challenging at the
moment, go for a past experience)
Step two: Tap into those good feelings. Think about all the moments of that situation: what
you were doing, who you were with, what you remember feeling, what you feel
as you remember it
Step three: Let that feeling sink into you, as you sink into it. Letting it wash over you (20-30
seconds thinking about this)
Step four: Practice this several times daily
*Tip: if it helps, you can try going into your day with the goal of noticing one or two pleasant things. Again, they don’t have to be anything big – it could be literally stopping to smell the roses.
Centre for Mindfulness Studies. (2009). GROW: A mindfulness-based wellness program curriculum. P. 46
About the Author
Ashley Davidson, MSW RSW is a Registered Social Worker at the Growth and Wellness Therapy Centre, focused on mindfulness, emotional regulation and anxiety.