Although our brains are built to be alert and drawn to threatening and unpleasant information, the good news is that we can voluntarily direct our attention, thinking, and imagining to positive events, strengthening a different brain circuit that leads to rewarding, positive feelings and mood. As with learning a language, a sport or a skill - the more we engage mentally with positive thoughts, ruminations, and imagery, the stronger THESE circuits become. When these circuits are the strongest and in control - we are quicker to attend to, store and remember positive, rather than negative, information. Mood improves, decisions are better and relationships are more rewarding. Viewing our lives and the world through a strong, deliberately trained positive filter erases the dominance of the negativity bias. 

These brain changes due to repetitive processing and practice highlight the importance of neuroplasticity in mental health. By practicing positivity, we change and strengthen rewarding brain circuits, making it naturally easier to attend to positive aspects of experience and to remember previous rewarding experiences, improving our daily mood. As with any skill, creating neuroplastic changes in positivity relies on practice and time to overcome our genetic propensity to prioritize and focus on negative information.

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