🔎 Magnification - A Cognitive Distortion
+ Count your Blessings | Wisdom Letter #280
“We suffer more in imagination than in reality” - Seneca
I’ll talk about magnification effect in a bit, but first a little rant -
I spent the 2 days this week working with under privileged elderly in rural India.
Most of them living below the poverty line, struggling to make ends meet, working as unskilled day labourers..
Some days they get work and make some money, some days they don't get anything.
Bitter cold, extreme heat, pouring rains, doesn't matter.. every day they are out searching for work/money/food.
Even if they have disabilities, even if they can't walk properly, even if they don't have a limb, and even if they can't see properly!
Its a f*cking hard life
Came back to the city on day 3.
Started working on my 100% online business from my cushy home office.
Scrolling Reddit, IG, Twitter and LinkedIn.. people worrying about AI replacing their jobs.
Getting annoyed that their employer is asking them to work from office
Feel cheated if some interviewer rejected them.
Entrepreneurs worrying about churning customers and growing competition..
All of this seems so trivial..
The human mind is a funny thing, it can take a minutest problem we're facing and magnify it into the greatest hardship we feel..
Last 2 days was a good reminder about how privileged my life is.
How lucky I am to be fit and healthy, to have a happy family, to work on stuff that I enjoy and make a decent living from it.
Whoever you are, if you're reading this, most likely you're quite lucky as well..
Take a moment to thank the stars - what you take for granted, might be someone's dream life..
Magnification - A Cognitive Distortion
As Seneca said, or as I experienced this week, most people suffer more in their minds than in reality. The problems they’re dealing with aren’t as painful as their mind is turning them into.
We magnify our problems in our heads.
I found interesting research on this idea of magnification.
How Magnification Works:
It functions like looking through binoculars, where imperfections become more visible and the broader context is lost
The mind automatically focuses on and amplifies negative aspects while simultaneously minimizing positive ones
These thought patterns often occur as automatic thoughts, becoming so habitual that people don't realize they can change them
Evolutionary Perspective
There's an evolutionary basis for this tendency.
Cognitive distortions evolved to help humans think adaptively, especially when facing danger or threats
. This thought process helped our ancestors:
Focus attention on dangerous aspects of situations
Evaluate the proximity, probability, and severity of threats
Ensure survival through heightened awareness
But of course, this is not an optimal way to live in the 21st century where we are no more in danger of wild animals on the savannah.
If you’re mindful of your thoughts, you can monitor them and restructure your magnification.
Mindfulness practices like journaling, walking, meditation, yoga can greatly benefit if you’re going through cognitive distortion.
Cheers 🙌
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That’s it for today.
See you next week 👋
Cheers,
Ayush & Aditi