A Study Shows That 80% Of Our Thoughts Are Negative

Philippians 4:8-9, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”

I just read this morning. According to the National Science Foundation, the average person thinks 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts each day. Of those thoughts, 80% are negative and 95% are repetitive. This is what their studies have shown. That is very interesting.

A Cornell University study found out that 85% of what people worry about never happens! And of the 15% of things that did happen, 79% of the people said that they handled the situation better than expected or learned a valuable lesson from it. I found this information in a magazine called "Natural Awakenings" in the hotel lobby where I'm staying. The article is called, "Think Yourself Happy: Seven Ways To Change Your Mind And Be Happy." The Bible agrees with that in Philippians 4:8. Paul said to "think on these things" that are true (truth), lovely, of good report, of virtue, et cetera. Our mindset is everything in life.

I have received countless emails over the years from people who are miserable. Sometimes when you are on the outside of a situation you gain insight that those on the inside cannot see. As the saying goes, they cannot see the forest for the trees. So as a pastor who counsels people with the Holy Bible, I have learned more about human nature. It is all quite simple folks. God created the human mind. Our human brain is the most incredibly complicated living organism ever made. God is more than amazing!

The human body, mind and soul are the most beautiful things God ever created, and also the most frightening and ugly when things go wrong. I am awed by the creative abilities which God has empowered humans with. Humans create such beautiful music, exquisite art, tasty cuisine, clever inventions and inspiring writings. And yet those creative powers can be used for such horrific evil when the Devil takes over a person's mind. Consider nuclear power and the destructive powers which were unleashed on Japan in World War II. And yet thankful it was that very destruction that saves millions of lives and ended the war! 

When someone writes to me whose mind is obviously full of negative thoughts and self-defeating thinking, I always start by identifying their problem. They think about the wrong things each day. That is their biggest problem! We all tend to view a glass as being half empty instead of half full. As I showed you earlier, studies have shown that 80% of the average person's thoughts are negative. This is not surprising when you consider how negative the newsmedia is. Here is some helpful information that I found about negativity in the news...

WHY IS THE NEWS SO NEGATIVE?

1. Approximately 90% of all media news is negative.
2. Sensational stories form 95% of media headlines.
3. Nielsen ratings are at fault for 50% of negative news statistics.
4. 38% of Americans believe the media exaggerated the COVID-19 coverage.
5. Approximately 1 in 10 American adults checks the news every hour.
6. A website lost 66% of its readers when it published positive stories for a day.
7. Studies show that headlines with bad news catch 30% more attention.
8. Reports show 65% of news organizations ignore mistakes.
9. Around 26.7% of people that are exposed to negative news go on to develop anxiety.
10. An average of 79% of media companies print biased stories for advertisers.
11. Headline manipulation has been proven to double readership.
12. A staggering 87% of the COVID-19 coverage in 2020 was negative.
13. People are 49% more likely to read something negative than positive.
14. 63% of kids aged 12–18 say that watching the news makes them feel bad.
15. Most people blame the public for the popularity of negative news headlines.
16. 79% of Americans believe media articles are not balanced in their arguments.

SOURCE: https://letter.ly/negative-news-statistics/

The article continues with the following explanatory information...

Why does the news focus on the negative?

News outlets are businesses. They need to sell stories to survive and compete with thousands of competing news companies.

It has been proven that people prefer negative news over positive stories.

In fact, one Russian website attempted a social experiment whereby they published only positive articles for 24 hours.

The result?

A loss of no less than two-thirds of their entire readership!

This only goes to show why the focus is on the negative.

Why do we pay more attention to negative news than to positive news?

It has been proven that bad news sells. As humans, we have a bias toward choosing negative information over positive. It’s a quirk from our ancestors—who had to stay aware of all potential threats to their survival—that we still carry with us.

What is bad news bias?

Also known as negativity bias or the negativity effect, it’s the notion that even when of equal intensity, things of a more negative nature have a stronger effect on a person’s psyche. In other words, when people hear good news, it will leave a far less significant impression than any piece of negative news they hear.

Does bad news travel faster than good news?

Good news moves at a snail’s pace in comparison to bad news. Upon hearing bad news, most people normally spring into some kind of reaction or action. They tend to have a heightened state of perception of such news. In contrast, most people treat good news with a very flat response, with little or no emotions involved.

Why is the media so negative?

The media is negative and likes to report bad news—so much so, that the careers of journalists depend on their ability to be peddlers of negative news.

But why is this?

Simply because we made it that way. We effectively trained media outlets to drip-feed negative news into our minds.

How did we do that?

By showing less responsiveness to positive stories and higher levels of engagement and response to negative news, statistics, and other exaggerated media content. 

SOURCE: https://letter.ly/negative-news-statistics/

Dear reader, is your mind filled with negativity, filthy words, dirty thoughts, discouraging thoughts, et cetera? Do you continually have thoughts that you are a loser, worthless, no good and better off dead? Everyone at some point in life struggles with self-defeating negative thoughts. The first step in correcting the problem is to admit that you have a problem. Everyone has some kind of problem. No one is a complete package in life—we all have shortcomings, pet sins, defects in our character and weaknesses as human beings.

The second step friend to overcome a broken mind is to saturate your mind, heart and soul with good thoughts. Obtaining and maintaining a healthy mind is much the same as achieving a healthy body and maintaining our good health. What we eat determines what we become physically. If you eat greasy double cheeseburgers, MacDonald's, French fries and pizza all the time, you are going to slowly but ultimately gain weight and lose your good health. You're going to develop high blood pressure and high blood sugar, becoming insulin resistant and dangerously diabetic over time. No one becomes a fat unhealthy person in one day!

Likewise, no one becomes a negative, depressed, down and miserable person overnight. It was a slow process of bad choices and negative thinking that became worse and worse over time. Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968) used to wisely say: “Behind every tragedy of human character lies a long process of wicked thinking.” Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) wisely said: “If you want to never do anything that is terribly wicked, then you never do anything that is slightly wicked.” These are precious life-changing quotes that you would be wise to commit to memory as I have.

By God's grace I will continue to help people get their minds straightened out, by pointing people to the blessed Savior. If you want to have a sound mind dear friend, then walk with the Savior. Acts 4:13,“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” When you walk with the Lord you change! John 5:39, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” Turn off the garbage on TV! Put down the National Enquirer! Get out of that Facebook chatroom you ought not be in! Turn off Jerry Springer!

It's just like reclaiming your health. You need to start eating the right foods. You need to start thinking the right thoughts. Junk food is tasty! Bad news is intriguing, as long as it's not about us! Our sinful nature cannot be tamed the Bible says (James 3:7-8). The human heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all else, who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9). What we think today will determine what our mind becomes tomorrow! You won't become in five years who you decide to become, you will become whom you decide to hang around. Walk with wise men! Read the books of wise people. Listen to wise people talk. Watch wise people. A great place to start is listening to Solomon, in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes in the Bible!

Proverbs 13:20, “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” Proverbs 19:20, “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Dr. Bob Jones Sr. (1883-1968)