Imagine our ancient ancestors out on the long grass of the wild plain. Their senses fixed upon their predators. Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Meanwhile, the beasts that sustained our predecessors could bepassing them by without them noticing at all. Making their situation that much more dire. Why? We’re Wired to Focus on the Bad. After all, to survive, life has to win every day. Death has to win just once. That’s why we pay more attention to our enemies than our friends. Our friends won’t do us in! Now transport yourself off the fruited plain and picture yourself in the jungle.The jungle that is most office spaces. Your brain closes off from the outside world and focuses on the negative, preventing you from seeing other options and choices that surround you. After infinite generations of evolution, we’re still steered by our fears. Welcome to Episode #48 of Navigating the Fustercluck…a snackable podcast that addresses the aggravatingly awesome world of creativity and marketing, where our focus today is to explore the power of negativity, and how we can put it to service to make things better. Or as Helen Fisher, the author of Anatomy of Love, says…By conquering the brain’s impulse to focus on the bad, we can all build stronger relationships and enjoy happier lives. Let’s see how that translates in the environment we so often find ourselves in. Let’s explore the office jungle. And what we fear most there… Trauma  Just like our own childhoods, we can be scarred for years by a single event. That’s the textbook definition of trauma. As the New York Times points out, Bad emotions, bad parents and bad feedback have more impact than good ones. No matter how well we do at our jobs, we still feel that it can all be wiped away in one fell swoop: By a new boss.A big mistake we may have made.Budget cuts.A vindictive client.Office politics.Unforeseen forces. Any and all of them can wipe away an otherwise superb record. So, we find ourselves in a constant state of anxiety. Oddly enough, there is no positive opposite of trauma. One big success or moment cannot counterbalance the fear of a traumatic event. How can they when we so often here, What have you done for me lately? No wonder negativity consumes so many of us. And when it does, your brain closes off from the outside world and focuses on the negative, preventing you from seeing other options and choices that surround you. Doomed! That’s how negativity can make us feel. Placing us in utter despair. So deep we may wonder how the Hell we can escape it? How do we combat negativity when the negative has a greater impact on us than the positive. In fact, negative thoughts are 5X more powerful than positive thoughts. 5X!!! Back to the Future Well, just like negative thoughts served our ancestors, they can help us, too. Contentment Contentment has its place, but staying too long in one place can be damaging. According to the Harvard Business Review..Negative feedback guards you against complacency and groupthink.  Negative thoughts can keep you on your toes. Keep you searching. Moving on from one place where your competitors may catch up to or even pass you. If you embrace it, fear can help you keep your edge. As the legendary leader of Intel, Andy Grove once said, Only the paranoid survive. Furthermore… If you’re wrong, you will die. But most companies don’t die because they are wrong; most die because they don’t commit themselves. They fritter away their valuable resources while attempting to make a decision. The greatest danger is standing still. Just don’t let paranoia destroy ya’. Criticism Criticism is hard to take form anyone. Friend, family or co-worker. The key is understanding the intent of the criticism. Is it constructive or negative? I must admit, I’ve had reviews where 99 out of 100 things were positive. Even glowing.