Negativity Bias

Humans have a tendency to think negatively, not positively. As Laura Vanderkam writes, "Negativity bias is a well-known phenomenon in psychology. Adults spend more time looking at negative images than positive ones; they pay more attention to negative information when making decisions than positive information."

One way to interrupt that negativity is to simply be mindful of its absence. When there’s no immediate threat to your happiness, pause, reflect, and think, “This is a good moment.” It’s a double win: Not only are you not unhappy, but now you’re happy about it, too. Waiting to be happy limits our brain’s potential for success, whereas cultivating positive brains makes us more motivated, efficient, resilient, creative, and productive, which drives performance upward.

Remember the French philosopher, René Descartes's words: "It is not enough to have a good mind; the main thing is to use it well.

Lockdown Journal - Day 21

My Lockdown Journal 2020 – Thursday, Day 21:

More than two million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially registered around the world. The world as we know it has been tipped on its head. It feels as if we are literally caught up in a sci-fi movie. People around the world are “locked” in their homes in order to escape an invisible “monster” namely, COVID-19. Indeed, interesting times.

It would seem from new data that President Ramaphosa has implemented the lockdown in time to curb the spread of the coronavirus. I've heard that information about whether the lockdown has worked, will only be available in a week’s time. Let’s keep on praying for good news. It looks like the Democratic Republic of Conga is not only grappling with the COVID-19 but new cases of the Ebola virus. Let’s keep them in our prayers.

I’ve found some interesting information about the spreading of fake news during COVID-19 on Medium, an internet magazine. The article says, “Just like a virus, misinformation spreads by human contact. Viruses spread through physical contact while information spreads through a different type of contact, one that is immune to social distancing." But while messaging platforms make spreading fake news easier, the internet is but a tool for disseminating a human concoction. This could be why misinformation is so much more contagious than accurate information.

The answer is obvious: “Viruses need hosts so they can replicate and spread. This is also true for information. In this case, we are the growth medium: We feed the sources by reposting or retweeting something we’ve seen or read.” Think before you spread information.

Please ‘spread’ the following information: During the lockdown, many women, men and children are stuck at home with their abusers. There is no excuse for abuse during or after lockdown. The bravest thing you and I can do is to help someone who needs help or is asking for help. Call the Stop Gender-Based Violence Helpline on 0800 150 150.

#LockdownJournal
#LockdownSouthAfrica
#CoronaVirus