Building Long-Term Positive Memories

You become what you repeatedly do, and eventually, you become what you remember. How you file those things in your brain as positive or negative will determine who you become.

In their book Be A Player, Lynn Marriott and Pia Nilsson share this about memory:

“Psychological research has shown that humans have a 3:1 negativity bias as our default setting in storing memories. The brain naturally stores negative memories faster and stronger than positive ones.

 Neuroscience and evolution give us a simple explanation. It was much more important to remember danger and threats long ago than to remember positive or happy incidents. If we remember the snake and the hot stove, we are more likely to avoid them — and survive.

 On the other hand, when we store negative memories, consciously or subconsciously, we are prone to triggering those memories and emotions when we encounter similar experiences.”