I notice that my mind often goes to apparent problems, and this can be explained several different ways.
It’s cultural. My mind has been trained to do so through family, friends and culture. I can re-train it through gratitude practice and similar approaches.
It’s a biological predisposition that comes from natural selection. It makes sense for my mind to hone into potential problems so it can be ready for it if it happens, or solve existing problems. As they say, biology is not destiny, so my mind can be switched onto a different track.
It’s my mind searching for what it hasn’t taken care of yet. An apparent problem points to an unexamined belief, just like attention goes to a stone in the shoe. It goes there so it can be taken care of – in this case by examining the thought and find what’s more true.