Is there a negativity gene causing you to dread change and transition? It is possible. According to “Genes For Emotion-Enhanced Remembering Are Linked To Enhanced Perceiving,” a study led by Rebecca Todd and published in Psychological Science, almost 50% of people of Caucasian background have the ADRA2b gene that predisposes them to perceive negativity in words. Other ethnicities also have this gene but at much lower percentages.
However, don’t be quick to blame everything on a negativity gene. We all tend to avoid change because we would rather stay in our comfort zones. We want to avoid the discomfort and negative feelings we expect will come with change and transition. In doing so, though, we miss the possibilities of something positive coming out of change.
Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology and author of the book Flourish, has his own thoughts on a negativity gene. In 2011, he wrote about research findings that indicated that one’s personality predisposes some of us to being unable to rid ourselves of the negative emotions of anger, anxiety, and sadness.
Treatment, including therapy and medication, can help temporarily. However, managing your negativity gene also means managing negative emotions without ignoring them. Additionally, you need
• A reserve of positive and empowering emotions
• Meaning for your life
• Clear purpose for your life (read more at Discover your unique purpose)
• Positive relationships to ground you
• A network of people to help you through life’s challenges
All of these things will help you nurture a positive emotional mindset that will outpace your negative emotions and your negativity gene.
Full disclosure: I don’t know if I possess the negativity gene although anxiety and depression do run in the family. I readily admit that I was burdened by negative emotions for the first half of my adult life because of things that happened in my life. However, thanks to my own personal work over the years, I’ve been able to minimize my negative mindset. This has allowed my positive emotions to emerge despite life’s challenges.
To be an effective therapist and coach, I had to change my own personal mindset. Whether my clients possess the negativity gene or not, I want each of them to heal from past negative life experiences and become equipped to handle change and transition with more clarity and optimism, free from fear, anxiety, and anger.
You can’t change your genetics. You can work to outsmart your negativity gene.