Now I See it, Now I Don’t

Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon: Also called frequency illusion, it is an illusion in which something that has recently come to one’s attention suddenly appears with very high frequency shortly afterward. The reality is that before we focused on that element, we ignored it. Instead, we focused on other things.

There was this thing called a punch bug.

In the United States during the 1980s-1990s, there were still many first-generation VW bugs being driven around. This German invention was a fuel-efficient vehicle with storage in the front, a rear engine, and no air conditioning.

When someone saw a VW Bug, aka “Punch Bug,” they would punch you on the shoulder. Whoever saw it and said it first would get the honor of punching their friend in the shoulder. I have no idea when this started; I just know that I grew up with it.

As soon as someone started this game, it seemed like VW Bugs came out of the woodwork. I may not have noticed a VW bug in weeks, but they were everywhere as soon as the game started. I’d go from not noticing any to seeing lots of them, which is why my friends and I often had bruised shoulders.

The same goes for a new vehicle. I purchased a white work truck, and suddenly, I see them everywhere. I’m just kidding; white work trucks are everywhere in Arizona.

Say you buy a sports car or a truck with a sunburned red cap in the back. Suddenly, you see them in traffic, on the highway, or in a parking lot.

Now for the moral of the story: The same goes for the negative things in the world. If we focus on the negative things in life, then we notice more negative things. If we find ourselves complaining a lot, we start to see more things to complain about. Now, there is body science behind this. It has to do with misplaced survival instinct, which many people call fight-or-flight. That part of us always looks for dangerous situations to keep us safe.

Science stuff source: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response

I know what my response is in flight, fight, freeze, or fawn. If you don’t know yours, it would be a good idea to find out what your instinctual response is. I’m not encouraging you to jump in front of a train or do anything dangerous. But still, a way to find out safely might be paying attention to what you do when startled or how you respond to conflict. Again, don’t create any situations here; pay attention to your body’s responses when conflict arises or someone startles you.

Have you ever seen the bit where someone pops out of a trash can or fake mailbox to scare a person nearby? Often, that person runs, sometimes punches the prankster, and sometimes freezes for a moment.

In survival situations or after big-T traumas, our bodies want to be proactive and react sooner the next time something happens. Sometimes, our bodies get so used to responding to big-T traumas or other life situations that they treat more minor incidents as life-threatening. In other words, they overreact to situations to avoid life-threatening situations safely.

Our mind starts looking for those situations everywhere.

In the mindset of the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, it is an illusion that bad things start to happen more frequently; we hone in on them and stop seeing other things.

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Here’s the good news. The same principle applies to good things, happy situations, and things we like.

Yes, it works both ways. Why would it only work in a negative way? Please don’t listen to that voice; it’s telling you lies to keep you down. It thinks you can only survive if you’re always in survival mode. For reals. Save that for if you are walking in a desert wash, and it flash floods, or when you are driving a highway in America’s midwest and a tornado is approaching, or for that inevitable zombie apocalypse when a majority of what used to be the human population stops thinking.

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Before I continue, I must disclose that this is a new ability for me to see the positive and step through my negative filter. The survival expert in my head is always hypervigilant, yet I am learning to be more zen or stoic about it.

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Positive things are easy to find in daily life, no matter where you live. I’m in a seasonal gig; I spend the majority of my time walking off-trail in the forest. To me, that is heaven on earth. The negative part of me would complain about bugs, rocky terrain, or a surprise rainstorm. The positive part of me watches the bee buzz in front of my face and makes eye contact with it before it flies off and, instead of being fearful, takes a video of a bee swarm resting on a pine tree where I was supposed to work. The positive part of me watches the small herds of elk gather, the vast meadows, the green of all hues surrounding me, the sun on a cool morning, and clouds on a hot afternoon.

It gets easier.

Yesterday, I saw a goshawk launch from a pine branch and weave through the trees like the earth was moving them out of its way.

I had lunch with some co-workers, and it reminded me they are my people.

And easier.

I held a door for a stranger whose look of surprise and gratitude made my day. A car let me merge so I wouldn’t miss my turn.

The sunrise this morning was spectacular.

Being positive is a habit.

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Lifework: Consciously think of three positive things. Don’t let the naysayer run your brain. When the naysayer shows up, squelch it by thinking of positive things. It can be the same positive things over and over, especially since the naysayer in the brain harps on the same thing repeatedly.

Let the positive tape play over and over as well.

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This post was previously published on medium.com.

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