Negative Natalie
It is no secret that I am not the happiest person alive. I tend to me cynical, skeptical, and pessimistic. As was announced in class, I had a positivity ratio of .3, and like I said, this is based off of a good weekend. I’m sure I’m not the only one, I feel like most people tend to be on the negative side of things but, as we know from class, our optimal positivity ratio is 3.
Well, if you haven’t noticed, .30 does NOT equal 3.
So what do I do now? Great, I’m a sourpuss even on my best day. So how do I reach the golden standard of 3? Fake it till you make it? Yoga? Clinical strength anti-depressants? Well I like to think that there is a legitimate solution to my problem, which doesn’t resort my taking drugs or being a human pretzel. So here is what I’ve found.
How to Increase your Positivity
These tips actually come from Dr. Fredrickson and her website with which we tested our positivity in class.
- Track your positivity: Keep track of what makes your ratio change. What caused you to have a good or bad day? Can you work on changing those individual events, or your reaction to those events?
- Explore your positive emotions: Make a list of ten positive emotions. This list might include emotions like joy, inspiration, contentment, amusement, interest or gratitude. Try to remember what emits this emotion from you, and then try to bring more of that thing into your life. Work through your list of emotions until you’ve incorporated each into your life more frequently.
- Make for yourself a “positive pack”: Take one of those emotions you’d like to feel more of, and create a pack for that emotion. gather things that you associate with that emotion; things like music, pictures, poems, quotes, toys, etc; and spend some time with your collection throughout your day. It helps sprinkle positivity throughout your day.
BoweryJE22