"That same circuitry is active in your brain today in the amygdala, hippocampus, and related structures. It's hard-wired to scan for the bad, and when it inevitably finds negative things, they're both stored immediately plus made available for rapid recall. In contrast, positive experiences (short of million dollar moments) are usually registered through standard memory systems, and thus need to be held in conscious awareness 10 to 20 seconds for them to really sink in.
"In sum, your brain is like velcro for negative experiences and teflon for positive ones."
- Rick Hanson, psychologist, and Rick Mendius, neurologist, writing in the journal Inquiring Mind. [http://www.rickhanson.net/wp-content/files/BuddhasBrainArticle.pdf]
