Flourishing is in the numbers |
So what is that
magical ratio? At or above 3:1. Researchers
Fredrickson and Losada tracked people’s daily experiences over the course
of a month and found that people who are flourishing (as opposed to
languishing) report experiencing at least three times as many positive emotions
as negative emotions in their daily lives.
5:1 |
One reason that I really like this research is because it
doesn’t simply show “the more the better” for positive emotions. Instead, the
researchers note that it shouldn’t all
be good. Fredrickson and Losada found that there is an upper limit to the
ideal ratio of positive to negative emotions. The benefits of positivity
started to break down when people were experiencing a ratio higher than 11:1. That
is, more than eleven positive emotions for every negative emotion. This is
important because it helps us understand the vital role that negative emotions
play in our lives. It also makes me feel better because despite my best
efforts, I know that there are times when I’m just going to feel down, angry,
and unhappy. And this research says that that is okay!
While some negative emotions should be avoided at all costs (see
this post for a list of the four
worst negative behaviors you can display in your relationship), other negative
emotions such as guilt or sadness, when experienced in the appropriate setting,
may be adaptive and help us change for the better. For example, feeling guilty
when you’ve done something wrong can help you correct your behavior in the
future and make the proper amends. Feeling sad about growing apart from a good
friend may help you realize you still care about that relationship. In
relationships, conflict can help you negate bad patterns and work through
issues.
In addition, it seems
to me that the good is not as good if you aren’t occasionally contrasting it
with something bad. We need some emotional variety – feeling good all the time
might just get boring!
Finally, people who are forcing themselves to feel positively
all the time when it isn’t genuine may not reap the same benefits as those who
are experiencing genuine positive emotions.
So what can you do to
increase your ratio? Here are a few suggestions from previous posts on
Psych Your Mind:
Further Readings:
Losada, M. (1999). The complex dynamics of high performance teams Mathematical and Computer Modelling, 30 (9-10), 179-192 DOI: 10.1016/S0895-7177(99)00189-2
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