Negativity Bias: I Have Fallen And Can't Get Up...

NEGATIVITY BIAS: HELP, I HAVE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP? 10/22/20

By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com

Do you remember the commercial where and old lady fell in the floor? I really felt sorry for her. She raised up her hand and said: I HAVE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP. It appears she had no one to help her.

In my early pastoral ministry I had finished the lesson and was standing by the door greeting people as they left church. Many people told me how they had enjoyed the lesson. One lady hugged me and said: GOOD LITTLE TALK PASTOR. Wow, my lesson was reduced to a good little talk? What did she mean? Was she saying there was no spiritual value to my little talk? Was she putting me down? Was she hinting the previous pastor was a better teacher than I was? Did she not like my delivery style? My mind played games with me all week… GOOD LITTLE TALK? A few days later I heard the lady at the post office brag on what a good teacher I was. I lost time over: GOOD LITTLE TALK!

Have we ever misinterpreted another person’s comments? Do we have the tendency to hear many good comments and dwell on one NEGATIVE comment? How do we handle compliments and insults? Often we give more credence to the negative comments than to the positive. SEEMS BAD NEWS TRAVELS MUCH FASTER THAN GOOD NEWS. Do we hear negative comments LOUDER and longer than the kind words of friends?

I HAVE FALLEN AND I CAN’T GET UP! WHAT KIND OF AURA DO WE PROJECT FOR OTHERS TO SEE? ARE YOU THE PROBLEM? OR ARE YOU THE SOLUTION?

Numbers 13:30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. 31 But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. 32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. 33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.

LET US GET REAL? DO YOU MAKE DIFFICULT PROBLEMS MORE DIFFICULT THAN WHAT THEY REALLY ARE? Can our enemy be PARALYZING the VICTORIES God has planned for us?

WHY CAN’T WE SEE THE CONTAGIOUS CYCLES OF NEGATIVITY TRYING TO SMOTHER YOUR JOY? ASYMPTOMATIC, NO SYMPTOMS?

ELIJAH THE MAN OF GOD, HAD GREAT VICTORIES, NOW HE RUNS AND ASK GOD TO KILL HIM. IF WE LOOK TO PSYCHOLOGIST STUDIES WE WILL FIND THIS UNUSUAL FACT ABOUT HUMAN BRAINS… IT IS CALLED NEGATIVITY BIAS… WE TEND TO ACCEPT NEGATIVE EMOTIONS MORE THAN POSITIVE!

1 Kings 19:2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. 3. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. 4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.

Negativity bias is real. Seems our minds are open to receive negative issues more than positive issues. This acceptance of the negative over the positive will have an affect over how we listen? How we act or react? How our words will be spoken? This negativity bias will affect your choices and decisions? This bias will have an effect on how you get along with other people?

The brain is so amazing. It is a real fact that your brain will receive negative feedback quicker and more frequently than positive thoughts. Then remember the brain tends to linger and dwell longer on negative thoughts then positive ones. Maybe we could call this: NEGATIVITY DOMINANCE.

NEGATIVITY BREEDS NEGATIVITY. NO FILTER! SELF DISCIPLINE IS AMAZING! KILL THE MOMMA BEAR!

Philippians 2:14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;