When children come home crying in South Africa, it is common to hear their mother say, “You’ve just got to eat a little salt.” Mothers use this phrase as a way teach their kids that, nothing is perfect and you just have to persevere.
I’d never see that phrase before in the U.S., which seems odd given our love of salty foods. I guess maybe that is why it does not work here. We have no problem eating salt. In fact, we eat too much of it.
But is it possible to eat too little salt?
Both figuratively and literally, the answer may be yes.
According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, having too much salt in our diets may be harmful. And according to a psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, having too little negativity in our lives might just be detrimental to our well-being.
Fredrickson, professor of psychology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, discovered that the best way to achieve optimal levels of well-being and resilience is to have at least a 3 to 1 positivity ratio. That means that we have three positive emotions for every negative one.
Notice how Fredrickson didn’t say a 3 to 0 ratio. “We shouldn’t try to eliminate negative emotions,” she said.
Experiencing and expressing negative emotions is really part of the process for flourishing, even—or especially—during hard times, as they help us stay in touch with the reality of the difficulties we’re facing.”
It would be great to never have a bad thing happen in our lives. But that just isn’t going to happen. At one time or another, we will all have to eat a little salt. And it is good to know that might not be such a bad thing.
Do you think you have a 3 to 1 positivity ratio? Click here to take Fredrickson’s Positivity Self Test and find out.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
