Our brains are wired to take in the bad, and ignore the good. This is why it is easier to fixate on bad things rather than enjoy the good things in life. Because of the brain’s negativity bias, we have evolved to learn quickly from bad experiences, and slowly from good ones. This leaves us feeling more stressed, anxious, lonely, irritated, and inadequate than we need to be.

We can learn new ways of being. The way to build a foundation for happiness is to deliberately weave positive experiences into the fabric of your brain and your self. Dr. Rick Hanson provides a range of actionable resources on his web site. You can learn more about them here.