We all want to believe in ourselves

I want to believe in myself.

If you are a part of this human race, you do too. To be confident that we are making the right choices, and believe that we are processing reality in an accurate and healthy manner is one of our most natural desires. We want to view ourselves, our actions, and our decisions in a positive light. To believe in our dreams, and to be confident that they are achievable, is important to us.

This can conflict with our evolutionary programming. Evolution has created a trait in the human mind that focuses on the negative, or possible negative, more than the positive because for thousands of years doing so was a stronger indicator of survival. For our cave-dwelling ancestors, alertness to danger, AKA “the bad stuff,” was a matter of life and death. “We inherited the genes that predispose us to give special attention to those negative aspects of our environments that could be harmful to us,” explains psychologist and happiness researcher Timothy J. Bono, PhD.

While circumstance has altered this reaction in each of us, via trauma, healing, or chemical composition, every single human has some tendency toward negative thoughts.

For example, you might be having a great day when someone makes an offhand comment that hurts your feelings or irritates you. The rest of the day is spent stewing…