Neuroscience and Negativity

Did you know that it damages you to complain often, as well as listen to constant complaining? And I don’t mean that it will simply make you feel bad to be in such a constant state of negativity. I mean that it does actual physical damage to you… especially when there are no solutions being considered, and it’s strictly griping for the sake of griping.

Neuroscience and Negativity
Robert Sapolsky, a professor of neurology and neuroendocrinology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, found that continued exposure to negative stimuli will cause the hippocampus to shrink. The hippocampus is a part of the brain that is central to learning and memory. So, apparently, you can actually lose neurons by listening to others complain, and that can lead to your losing the ability to retain information and adapt to new situations.

Snap Out Of Negative Thinking
One of my favorite philosophers and self-development teachers, Wallace D. Wattles, said, “Gratitude draws the mind into closer touch with the source from which the blessings come.”

I bring this up because practicing gratitude is a great way to snap yourself out of negative thinking. That’s because when you’re grateful, you keep thoughts of dissatisfaction at bay. Try it and see. You can’t possibly hold a dissatisfied thought in your mind at the same time as a thought of gratitude. You can only have one or the other at any given time.

So, if you’ve previously ignored the practice of expressing gratitude, thinking it’s a sappy sentiment or whatever, think again. Gratitude is a great tool to keep your brain from shrinking.

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Angela Loëb helps people rediscover and use their gifts so they bring who they are to what they do in life. http://about.me/angelarloeb
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