Read on if you are struggling mentally and emotionally.

What is the positivity ratio and why is it important?

It is a measure of your positive to negative emotions and where you sit on the positivity scale.

Are you too negative, making you less resilient to stress and increasing your risk of anxiety and depression?

Or, are you too positive and not grounded in reality?

Or, are you “just right” with an ideal ratio of positive to negative emotions?

You can measure your positivity ratio via an online quiz: www.positivityratio.com

Why is this important?  Positive emotions increase life satisfaction by building resilience.  The positivity ratio is therefore a measure of your resilience.  Researchers have established that the resilience tipping point is 3:1.  In other words, to be more resilient with an increased life satisfaction, you ideally need 3 positive emotions for every 1 negative emotion.  This is because negative emotions are more potent and less fleeting than positive emotions.  However, if your ratio is less than 3:1, you will most likely be less resilient to stress, less able to overcome life’s obstacles with an overall decreased life satisfaction.

During these challenging times, we are all experiencing an abundance of negative emotions. A mental health pandemic is happening right alongside the viral pandemic.  Now more than ever, we need to keep our positivity ratio at the ideal 3:1 so that we are resilient enough to cope with the many obstacles we are being faced with.  The only way to achieve this is by making a concerted effort to increase your positive emotions.

Here are some of the many ways to increase your positive emotions:

• Take good care of your health – make healthy food choices, be as physically active as you can be and guard your sleep.
• Practice gratitude on a daily basis.
• Do random acts of kindness.
• Set aside time on a regular basis to do something that you love to do.
• Surround yourself with positive people.
• Think about a happy memory from your past.
• Practice mindfulness.
• Watch your favourite comedy.
• Spend time in nature.

What is your positivity ratio and how do you increase your positive emotions?