How to savour the positive for better body image

Focusing too much on the negative is bad for your health and well-being (which, by the way, includes your body image).

Our brains are wired to notice the negative more than the positive.  This means it takes conscious, consistent effort to balance out the negative thinking with more positive experiences.

In today’s post, I’m sharing a technique to help bring more balance to your thinking.  It’ll stop negativity bias having such an adverse impact on your body image, health and happiness.

Using this technique really can hard-wire your brain for more positivity, so give it a try!

Watch or read below:

Your brain works to keep you safe

The brain looks out for and focuses on negative experiences.  This is known as ‘negativity bias’.  It’s a survival mechanism designed to keep us safe.

I talk a bit more about this concept in Body Confident Friday – Episode 18: Thoughts aren’t reality, so you might find it useful to go check this video out.

When it comes to your health and well-being, excessive negativity can have a detrimental impact.  It can weaken your immune system, cause anxiety, and worsen body image.

The best way to combat negativity is to embed as many positive experiences in your brain as possible.

Savour positive experiences for better body image

The next time you experience a positive event (it can be anything – something that made you smile, happy, a compliment you received, a good deed whatever), savour it for at least 20 seconds.

Really practice being in the moment, notice what is happening.  What can you hear, what you can see, what feelings are coming up for you?

When you focus on the positive as if nothing else matters in that moment, you give your brain the opportunity to start hard-wiring positive experiences.

Your brain will not stop negativity bias (it’s a safety mechanism after all), but actively focusing on the positive helps to build up a database of positive experiences to counter balance any negative ones.

So give this a try!

I’d love to know, how does it feel to savour the positive?  Leave me a comment below.