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6 Scientific facts about positivity

January 7, 2023

What are the first scientific facts about positivity that come to mind? Are you a positive or a negative thinker? Imagine you are standing at a train station in the dead of winter. There was so much snow fall, the train can no longer operate until further notice. What do you do?

Are you going to handle it in a way that’s negative, by getting angry or frustrated? Blame the railway and allow your thoughts to spiral from the injustice of it all?

You could consider it an opportunity to relax and have a coffee somewhere warm, read a book. Or what I do in situations like this, go get a massage.

Your choice of action may say something about your current well-being in life. Keep in mind, we are bad weather animals by nature. To enjoy the good weather actually takes work effort from the brain.
Here are 6 scientific facts coming from the world’s leading expert in the world of “Positivity”, Barbara Fredrickson, PhD from the University of North Carolina.

6 scientific pacts about positivity

1. It creates positive emotions

We experience emotions such as joy, creativity, inspiration, gratitude, pride, etc. We start to filter for new things in our environment.

2. Positivity changes how your mind works

Positivity means that we exchange a negative way of using our brain with a positive way of doing so. In this state, we are more inclined to see possibilities. It shifts the scope of the boundaries of your mind. The mind becomes more flexible.

3. It transforms your future

Positivity builds resources; you are truly getting the best out of yourself. This means you show up entirely differently during events where others may have a hard time.

4. Puts the breaks on negativity

When we experience negative emotions and negativity, we release toxins inside the body that are bad for us. Whereas when we experience positivity and positive emotions, we do the exact opposite. Positivity cancels the release of the negative toxins.

5. Obeys a tipping point

The effects of positivity aren’t linear; there is no line leading directly to the effect. Positivity studies are more of a non-linear science, where a very small thing could happen that causes a much larger positive effect. Effects grow disproportionately.

6. Positivity can be Learned and cultivated

I believe that this is ideally where NLP training comes in, where positive interventions or NLP techniques could easily be created to facilitate positivity to grow.