Positivity

Questions to answer:
1. Why is mindfulness important? It increases positive emotions by decreasing
our mind chatter. You cant look for positive experiences in your day to day life
if your mind is constantly preoccupied with the negative.
2. How do I raise my positivity ratio? Aim for a positivity ratio of at least 3:1. This
means that for every heart wrenching negative emotional experience you
endure, you experience at least three heartfelt positive emotional experiences
that uplift you.
Rest assured that no matter how good you are at negativity, youre also capable of
positivity.
When you come in calm, it goes much better.
A tipping point is that sweet spot between where a small change makes a big difference.
FACTS ABOUT POSITIVITY:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

positivity feels good

positivity changes how your mind works.
positivity transforms your future
positivity puts the breaks on negativity
positivity obeys a tipping point
you can increase your positivity
positivity produces success in life as much as it reflects success in life
the way to pursue happiness is to pursue positivity each day, wherever we are.

Downside of negativity: It forecasts heart attacks, strokes, eating disorders, obesity,

suicide, violence, and more.
What is the broad and build theory? It suggests that positivity opens us. Positive emotions
broaden peoples ideas about possible actions, opening our awareness to a wider range of
thoughts and actions than is typical. Scientists have shown that because positive and open
mindsets produce exploration and experiential learning, they also come to produce more
accurate mental maps of the world.
What is the difference between real smiles and fake ones? All smiles involve the
zygomaticus major, the muscle on each side of our faces that raises our lip corners. Non
enjoyment smiles stop there. They do not also involve the orbicularis oculi, the muscle
that circles each of our eyes.

Positivity can lead to a mental change, affecting your image of yourself and others, and
practical, affecting how you act and interact with others on a daily basis.
What are the ten forms of positivity? Joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride,
amusement, inspiration, awe, and love. When was the last time you felt this feeling?
Where were you? What were you doing? What else gives you that feeling?
How to I build positive emotions? Ask yourself, what is right about my current
circumstances? What makes me lucky to be here? What aspect of my current
circumstances might I view as a gift to be treasured? You cant simply will yourself to
feel a positive emotion. Try to do something or think of something that promotes
positivity.
Alice Isen, a psychologist, showed that when people feel good, they are more likely to
be kind and offer help to strangers. Doing so increases positivity in yourself and others.
By design, negativity inspires you to protect yourself.
On average, people did not report any reliable increases in their positive emotions
until their third week of meditation practice.
Your habits can change with the accumulation of negativity or positivity in your life.
How often do you find yourself doing one think but thinking about another? Do
you ever get so wrapped up in your own head that you fail to fully appreciate the
beauty of nature that surrounds you?
Learn to savor what is good in your life!
What are some of the benefits to positivity? The practice of positivity sends out more
dopamine and opioids, enhances immune system functioning, and diminishes
inflammatory responses to stress. Positivity brings lower blood pressure, less pain,
fewer colds, and better sleep. Positivity can undo the cardiovascular aftereffects of
negativity. This is your hidden reset button.
Characteristics of resilient personality styles: They react to what is happening now, not to
what ifs. They dont spend energy worrying about the future. Instead, perhaps
appreciating that they can cope with whatever comes their way, they adopt a wait and see
attitude. They dont over generalize or overreact. They minimize their angst by cutting
out advance worry and afterglow obsessions, focusing instead on the reality of the present
moment.
Learn to adopt a wait and see attitude.

Gottman: What did he learn about marriages? He divided the marriages he studied
into two groups. One group was made up of marriages that lasted and that both partners
found to be satisfying. I call those flourishing marriages. The other group was made up of
marriages that had fallen apart. The partners had become dissatisfied, estranged,
separated or divorced. Among flourishing marriages, positivity ratios were about 5:1.
What are the findings regarding the positivity ratio? The consistency here is
extraordinary. For individuals, marriages, and business teams, flourishing-or doing
remarkably well-comes with a positivity ratio of 3 to 1.
Try the 14 day Reconstruction Method: complete the positivity self test during an
ordinary day, making no special effort to make yourself look good.
1. Record when you woke up and when you went to sleep.
2. Think about your whole-and divide the day into episodes such as eating
breakfast with the kids, commuting to work, etc.
3. Typical episodes last 10 minutes to 2 hours.
4. Revisit each episode to paint in the emotional details. Relive each in your mind
for a moment. Once youve done so, complete a positivity self-test.
www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/nimhdepression.pdf
For Depsy Group: Hundreds of scientific studies tell us that when people change the
course of their thinking, they change the course of their emotion. Studies in the field
of neuroscience find that as you create new habits of thought, you fundamentally
rewire your brain. This is called neuroplasticity.
What are three ways to increase your positivity ratio?
Increase the numerator, decrease the denominator, or both.
Quote: Life always gives us exactly the teacher we need at every moment. This includes
every mosquito, every misfortune, every red light, every traffic jam, every obnoxious
supervisor (or employee), every illness, every loss, every moment of joy or depression,
every addiction, every piece of garbage, every breath. Charlotte Joko Beck
For Depression Workbook and Depsy Group: Goal of decreasing negativity not
eliminate it. Appropriate negativity keeps us grounded and honest. Your best goal is to
reduce inappropriate or gratuitous negativity. Gratuitous negativity is neither helpful nor
healthy. Does it help to snap at the cashier after youve waited in line longer than you
expected?
What is rumination? It happens when you go over and over your negative thoughts
and feelings. You examine them from every angle. You question them. Your thinking
gets stuck in a rut of endless questions. Studies show that when people experience
negative emotions, they selectively call to mind negative thoughts.

Ways to increase positivity: savor goodness, count your blessings, be kind, follow your
passions, dream about your future, apply your strengths, connect with others, connect
with nature, open your mind, open your heart.