Confessions of a Non-Practicing Pessimist

Episode #322 with Robb Zbierski

Human brains are hardwired for negativity. But we can choose to change this default setting! And to help you become more successful at life, Kirk Behrendt brings in Robb Zbierski from Freedom Personal Development with tips to manage your mindset. By changing your habits, perspective, and attitude, you can achieve the results you want with less effort! To tap into the power of your mind, listen to Episode 322 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Human brains are hardwired to focus on negativity, urgency, and complacency.

Due to the hardwiring, people are subconsciously pessimistic.

Modern society and culture support this hardwired negativity.

Focusing on one problem sets off a chain reaction of problems in your brain.

You have the ability to change habits, thought processes, and perspectives.

Practice gratitude regularly, knowingly, and intentionally.

Quotes:

“Right, wrong, or indifferent, we are all born, we are all shipped from the factory. Our brains have certain default settings. We are hardwired to focus on specific things. The biggest ones that we see that actually hold us back, our brains are hardwired to focus on negativity, urgency, and complacency. The short version is, we think it sucks, we think it needs to be fixed right now, but we’re unwilling to contribute or do anything because that might be a little uncomfortable.” (09:38—10:07)

“Most people don't wake up going, ‘I'm going to be a jerk today.’ But the reality is, the way our brains are hardwired, we end up unconsciously being a jerk or being a pessimist because it’s a survival mechanism. Like caveman days, saber-toothed tiger days, we’re always looking for threats. Our brains are hardwired to look for threats so we live longer. Unfortunately, that tendency, that hardwiring, is buried deep in our DNA. And our challenge is that what our brain perceives as a negative input or a threat today, it’s just not the same as it was back in the caveman days.” (10:23—11:04)

“Grizzly bears, saber-toothed tiger, tribe with a stick and can throw a spear, is a threat. You're going to die unless you can address it. Today, like if you're going back to conferences and they don't have Starbucks out, you're like, ‘Argh, institutional coffee! Argh!’ Right? Your brain thinks that's the same thing. Or you throw a treatment plan out to your patient, and they're like, ‘Yeah, let me think about it.’ And you're like, ‘What? What do you possibly need to think about?’ Right? Or like, ‘I need more information.’ ‘Okay. Here’s the information. You have teeth. They need to be fixed. This is how to fix them. That's the information.’ And you go into defensive mode. You're like, ‘Why are you trying to shut down my practice by saying no?’ It’s like, you don't wake up going, ‘Who am I going to be pissed at today?’” (11:05—11:58)

“Ultimately, unconsciously, because of these unhelpful default settings, this hardwiring, we just end up having a lot of negative thoughts. And then, the reality is, we do live in a culture that I think kind of helps promote this. Right? Like, the news and social media. The reality is, you turn on the news, it’s the worst thing in the world. Or you read the paper, it’s like, if it bleeds, it leads. That’s what sells newspapers and magazines.” (13:34—14:05)

“You have tools at your disposal that are inside of you. They're free, they work. But being aware of them and cultivating the skill is actually proven to overcome all these “default settings”. And so, as it relates to overcoming pessimism or overcoming your brain’s natural tendency to focus on the negative, ultimately, we’re talking about attitude.” (17:23—17:47)

“There are mindset management tools that you can use that are simple, and they work . . .