What Went Well @ Victor Harbor High School?

Emotions are natures way of equipping us for the most fundamental task that faces us ... survival (Gaffney 2011). Emotions impact on

• our thinking
• what we pay attention to
• evaluations we make of the world
• what we think is important and valued
•  how we make decisions
• our relationships and
• our self concept

We all have a negativity bias , meaning we are emotionally hard wired to correcting mistakes, rather than recognising What Went Well. When the negativity bias (or glass half full attitude) minimises life satisafction then we maximise anxiety and depression.

Researchers have learnt that the ratio between positive and negative emotions is critical to wellbeing. The positivity ratio (Fredrickson, Losada, Gottman) is as follows;

• 1:1 tends to correlate with depression
• 5:1 flourishing relationships
• the tipping point is 3:1

I encourage all community members to identify what you are grateful for in your daily life. If our lives are filled with 5 positives for each negative then theoretically we should all be leading resilient and flourishing lives.

I'm looking forward to you "paying forward" what you are grateful for as the teachers and ancillary staff at Victor Harbor High School educate your children on a daily basis. 

Until Next Time ...........