Has it ever surprised you how long you can remember unpleasant events? At the same time, we quickly miss a much larger number of pleasant episodes and moments. We can be disturbed for a long time by the sharp cry of a loved one. And the fact that he said five times more pleasant words before is forgotten or does not attract as much attention. And it seems to the person that he is vindictive. Which is too suspicious. And that you need to read more carefully the principles of positive thinking so as not to dwell on the unpleasant. For some it may be so. Each case and person with their emotional reactions is individual. But there is also an explanation for this phenomenon from the point of view of evolution. Paul Ekman, a psychologist who devoted himself to the study of emotions in humans, studying facial expression, identified six basic emotions: anger, fear, disgust, surprise, sadness and joy. It is these emotions that exist in every person, regardless of culture, i.e. from social context and upbringing. Only these emotions have their own special facial expression, recognizable anywhere in the world. So, if you pay attention to these basic emotions, you can see that only one emotion is conditionally positive - joy. And five of them are not associated with pleasant sensations (anger, fear, disgust, surprise, sadness). This fact is not accidental. After all, signaling about various unfavorable situations is much more important for a person when it comes to saving his life, or the need for help. Negative emotions appear first at birth and are already visible in a week-old baby. Actively expressing fear, sadness, and anger helps ensure that the newborn's needs are met. In an adult, each negative emotion signals a special state. Fear - you need to run. Sadness is asking for help. Anger - to defend or attack. The emotion of joy manifests itself in the ontogenesis of the latter. The variety of negative emotions gives a person a tool to change a dangerous or unpleasant situation. A person needs a spectrum of negative emotions. To survive and preserve life. In our brain, the center responsible for negative emotional reactions is excited quickly and is sensitive to the slightest changes in a person’s reactions. Positive emotions do not play such a big role in the survival of the species, so their imprinting in the brain is not so justified and occupies a much less pronounced area. We need to remember this feature of processing incoming signals so as not to scold ourselves for being stuck on the negative again. Again I made an elephant out of a molehill. And he treats with understanding his built-in mechanism, the purpose of which is to attract maximum of your attention to negative experiences and, thus, save you from the upcoming danger. Knowing that our biology is such, it is easier to do something with it. Pay additional attention to the joys of this life. Remember and recall pleasant past moments. Remember that you yourself are doubly responsible for your delight, happiness and joy - with your conscious part. And help these positive, although not of the first importance from the point of view of human survival, emotions be and manifest themselves in your life.