How the ‘Magnifying Glass’ Can Help Us Find Well-Being and Joy

With the “magnifying glass” mindset, we can find more nourishing moments.

Last week I noticed the most magnificent red-orange-yellow leaves of this tree against the backdrop of the otherwise brown and barren landscape of late autumn. This photo was taken from my window, the one I walk by multiple times a day, every day. And yet, there were many days prior that I walked right by this window and literally did not notice this spectacle of nature in front of me.

How is that even possible? And what does this have to do with well-being?

Our brain’s processing system

While our sensory system is flooded with information at any moment and can process one billion bits of information per second, the brain filters this information into conscious thought that can only process 10 bits of information per second.

As quoted in Technology Network, “this constraint reflects deep evolutionary logic: the brain is not designed to process everything at once, but to focus selectively on what matters for survival and decision-making.”

So essentially, we are filtering out an extraordinary amount of information at any moment and distilling it down into a very tiny bit of information through which we perceive the world around us. That filtered view is the lens through which we think, act, and move through our lives.

The role of the negativity bias

In addition to the limited amount of information we can consciously process at any moment, enter the negativity bias. According to research, our brains’ neural processing favors negative stimuli starting in infancy. From infancy onward, our brain elicits a stronger response to negative information and remembers negative information more than positive information.

Put another way, of the limited information that we consciously process, we tend to take in and focus on the bad things and overlook the good things.

How to tip the scales

With these two things working in tandem against us, what can we do to help tip the scales toward positivity? I’m not talking about forced positivity, but about training ourselves to more intentionally choose where we focus our attention and to try and notice more positive, nourishing things around us. Often these things are right in front of us, but they literally might not be seen or processed.

That gorgeous tree at the height of its foliage (once I started noticing it) has brought me some authentic moments of awe and gratitude. While it might seem like a little thing, these moments add up and can become significant to help offset the stress and overwhelm that so many of us feel on a daily basis.

The tool of the magnifying glass

As an antidote to the negativity bias, I teach about the tool of the “magnifying glass” to help us find deeper well-being. Imagine carrying around a magnifying glass in your back pocket and pulling it out throughout the day. This magnifying glass in particular helps you to notice the things right in front of you that might otherwise slip away: the smile of a loved one before you run out of the house in the morning, the kind look of a cashier helping you make a purchase, the 10 things that went right in your day before that annoying thing happened, and the choices you made today that moved you in the direction of well-being.

When you take the time to consciously notice these seemingly small things, you create the conditions for positive emotions to naturally emerge. Positive emotions don’t just feel good, but they also help us build “enduring personal resources” that, over time, can help us flourish; buffer the stress response in the body and brain, and are linked to better health and resilience.

Try this:

  1. Find the good in your day. Use the magnifying glass to notice what is one small thing that is here right now? What is one thing that went well? I am noticing the sun that is beaming through my window brightening my mood and appreciating having a free afternoon to work on this blog.
  2. Find the good in others. Use the magnifying glass to notice one small thing that you appreciate about someone else. It could be the pleasant coworker you work alongside, a stranger who picked up an item you dropped and handed it back to you, or a family member who you may tend to take for granted but recognize how much they support you.
  3. Find the good in yourself. Use the magnifying glass to ask: What is one quality or value I appreciate about myself that I can bring into the day? What is one positive quality someone else appreciates about me that I can recognize in myself?

Whatever you choose to magnify, take a moment to let it register as an embodied experience. Rick Hanson’s research suggests that as we activate neural networks associated with a positive experience, and then take a minute or more to enrich and absorb that experience (e.g., turning up the intensity, sensing that the experience is sinking in like a sponge absorbing water, focusing on what is meaningful or important about this experience), we help turn passing states into more lasting traits.

That tree outside my window has become a source of nourishment for me in this past week. It’s a reminder to me of the beauty that is here if I open my eyes and remember to be intentional about where I rest my attention. It may be a little thing, but taken together, the little things become the big things that help us through.

Originally published on Psychology Today.