How I combat ‘everyone’ syndrome

Photo Credit: Jacob Lund Photography

Many people feel overwhelmed when “everyone” reacts negatively to their social media posts or when “everyone” at work seems difficult. In reality, it’s often just a few negative comments out of many or a couple of challenging colleagues.

Negativity bias amplifies these few negative experiences, making them seem more prevalent than they are. When I catch myself, I modify thoughts like “everyone thinks…” to a more accurate assessment: “a few people said…”.

I try to reserve exaggeration for humor, not for playing the victim.