Just remember to count your blessings as you count your miseries.

We are hardwired for a negative bias.

There are many ways in which the negativity bias manifests itself. Here are some examples:

We remember insults more than we remember praise.

Negative experiences tend to be more memorable than positive ones.

The brain has a tendency to be vigilant and wary.

For positive experiences to resonate, they have to occur much more frequently than negative ones.

The brain reacts more strongly to negative stimuli than to positive stimuli. Studies show that there’s a greater surge in electrical activity in the brain when we see a picture of something negative—like a dead cat—than we see a picture of something positive—like a great meal.

If something good and something bad happen to you on the same day, you’ll react more strongly to the bad than to the good (even if both events are otherwise comparable).

When your mind wanders it’s more likely to recall something that made you angry or upset, instead of recalling something that made you happy and filled you with pride.