According to neuropsychologist, Rick Hanson we can actually ‘build happiness into our brains’ in as little as 30 seconds.
Our brains have a bias towards negativity
Neurologist Paul MacLean[1] explains that our skulls holds not one, but three brains, each representing a distinct evolutionary layer that has formed, one on top of the other. While the three brains are connected by nerves to each other, they can each operate as a discreet brain system with distinct priorities and capacities.
The first brain to form is known as the reptilian brain. According to MacLean it is rigid, obsessive, compulsive, ritualistic and paranoid, it is “filled with ancestral memories.” It keeps repeating the same behaviours over and over again, never learning from past mistakes. This brain controls muscles, balance and autonomic functions, such as breathing and heartbeat. This part of the brain is active, even in deep sleep.
This brain is all about survival. It doesn’t want us to relax, get too complacent, and enjoy ourselves. It wants us to be vigilant and suspicious. This is what kept our ancestors alive – always being on guard and wary. Like any habit, the longer it is practiced, the stronger it becomes. Since the reptilian brain is the oldest of the three brains, it can at times, dominate and override the other two brains.
The second, and next ‘oldest’ brain, known as the limbic brain, is concerned with emotions and instincts. As MacLean observes, everything in this emotional system is either “agreeable or disagreeable.” This brain tends to be the seat of our value judgments, instead of the more advanced neocortex – the third brain. It decides whether our higher brain has a “good” idea or not.
The best way to compensate for the negativity bias is to regularly ‘take in the positive’
In his book, Hardwiring Happiness, Dr.Hanson shows how to turn our everyday experiences into the neural pathways we need for our well-being. He explains by combining neuroscience with contemplative techniques, we can take charge of our brains.[2]
Mental states become neural traits
Hanson offers a 4-step process to ‘hardwire happiness.’ Here are the first three steps (the 4th step is optional):
Have a positive experience – notice the positive in any given experience, or reflect on a past happy experience. (Positive is that which leads to happiness and benefit for oneself and others.)
Enrich it – expand your awareness of the experience to include not only your feelings, but other sensory input.
Absorb it - Through the power of intention you can intensify the experience, and sense it sinking in and becoming part of you.
Intense, repeated mental / neural activity – especially if it is conscious – will leave an enduring imprint in the neural structure. According to Hanson, it takes less than 30 seconds to establish a neuropathway. If we can make a point of practicing this process throughout the day, we begin to weave an underlying sense of resilience and well-being into ourselves, where happiness becomes our new baseline.
Take charge of your brain!
If you don’t consciously make use of this power yourself, other forces will shape your brain for you – including pressures at work and home, technology and media, the lingering effects of painful past experiences …