Researchers love their numbers and when it comes to positivity, there golden ratio is 3-to-1. This means that for every heart-wrenching negative emotional experience you endure, you aim to experience at least three heartfelt positive emotional experiences that uplift you. The 3-to-1 ratio is the tipping point positive psychology researches predicted whether people languish or flourish.
The beauty of the 3-to-1 positivity ratio is that it’s large enough to encompass the full range of human emotions. That’s the good news.
The bad news is, it’s not easy. By design, humans are exquisite insincerity detectors. If you attempt to deliver positive words devoid of sincere, heartfelt feeling, you and those around you will sense it. Sincerity counts.
As you begin to experiment with elevating your positivity ratio, tracking your own sincerity will be key. What you’ll strive for is more frequent, heartfelt moments of positivity. Watch for the negativity or neutral masquerading as smile.
