I attended a symposium on Positive Psychology at Claremont College. The university where Peter Drucker's, the father of modern management, Institute is located.It was an amazing day of inspiring researchers from around the world talking about how they were applying positivity to their area of research. (To see some pictures and videos of the day visit my Facebook Page!)
One of the most interesting and easy to grasp ideas that I got from the day was The Positivity Ratio. Barbara Fredrickson from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has discovered the ratio of how many positive emotional experiences it takes to off set one negative emotional experience. What she found is somewhat surprising.
It takes 3 positive emotional experiences to reach a "tipping point beyond which people naturally become more resilient to adversity and effortlessly achieve what they once could only imagine." It takes 3 positives to undo one negative.
Think back over your day or even the last hour. How many positive emotions did you feel? How many negative emotions did you feel? What is your ratio?
Here is the most shocking information. If you are like 80% of all Americans, you probably are not having 3 positives for each negative emotional experience. That is what her research is revealing. Only 20% of Americans have a 3 to 1 ratio (or better).
So, what do you do? How can you change your ratio?
Dr. Fredrickson's prescription is to lightly create a positive mindset by being open, curious, and appreciative.
Gratitude journals really do make a difference. Take a moment and create a list (even if it is a mental list) of 3 to 5 things you could do right now to be happier.
She also recommends that we track our positivity ratio daily. As you may know, what you measure you pay attention to. So, tracking your ratio each day will cause the ratio to change. (Hence why most diet programs require a food diary and financial planners suggest you track your spending.)
In one of her studies she used a Loving Kindness Mediation. The results are staggering. The increase in positive emotion lead to numerous benefits to health and well-being. She is currently preparing this research for publication.
